During The Time of Harry Potter: Part Three
by Siriusgrl88
Summary: The third part of the sequel to "The Story Before The Story". The sequel focuses on Annalisa, her family, and her friends Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the others . It's a lot better than it sounds, I swear. Please read and review!
1. Rules

Ok, here goes. Disclaimer: Annalisa Dairine Black, Aurora Clementine Badeau, Conri Carmine Black, Rupert Severus Badeau (Lupin-Snape), Aberto Adriano Badeau, Alicia Doireann Badeau (nee Riddle), Timothy Durante Badeau, Alfred Cillain Badeau, Holly Caoimhe Badeau, Nicola Sorcha Badeau, Italia Isla Badeau, Thekla Sophia Badeau (nee Metaxas), Maximus Eligio Badeau, Alexander Fidel Badeau, Massimo Cillian Badeau, Dolores Maria Badeau (nee DaSilva), anyone else mentioned in my fanfics that aren't in Jo's books are (C) me :)

Pippa Nicole Lupin-LaVigne (C) Ashley :)

Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Fred and George Weasley, and anyone else whom you recognize from the books are (C) Jo Rowling. I'm sorry that it's so short but she has a lot of characters and so do I so if I listed them all, it would take up about half a page.

Enjoy and review!

* * *

Annalisa followed her mother and rambunctious brothers through the school to a gargoyle that stood, frozen in place. "Cedric," Aurora said and Annalisa's head snapped up and she looked around, hoping still that that night had been just a very bad dream. Her shoulders slumped when she didn't see her late friend. She solemnly followed her mother and brothers up the spiral staircase and to Dumbledore's office. They entered and Aurora motioned for them to sit down in the three chairs sitting before Dumbledore's desk. They waited for about five minutes before Albus finally showed up.

"Ah, you're here," he said as he took his seat behind his desk. "I have to lay down some rules for you this summer," he went on. The boys groaned and Annalisa looked at Dumbledore suspiciously.

"What kind of rules?" she asked slowly.

"You may not write to Harry Potter," he said with a firm voice.

"What?! Why not?!" Annalisa and the boys said together.

"Because whatever information you might find out this summer cannot be passed on to him in any way. And since I know that you're all very rebellious, I can't permit you to write Harry. I'm sorry."

"Do you realize how angry this will make him!? I don't want him to be mad at me because some old cotter said I couldn't write to him!" Annalisa snapped and Aurora hit her upside the head.

"Don't you dare talk to him that way, Annalisa Dairine Black," Aurora snapped as Annalisa glared up at her.

"Harry's going to be angry, Mum! Not to mention I feel like I'm betraying him by not telling him what's going on with the Order," Annalisa protested.

"Yeah!" Conri and Rupert chorused.

"Quiet or you'll all be grounded from visiting your father," Aurora said and her children glared angrily at her but remained quiet. They all turned back to Dumbledore.

"Annalisa, I know that you are good friends with Harry but he has a connection to Voldemort that could be fatal to the Order. If Voldemort is able to get inside of Harry's head somehow, the Order's secrets could be revealed. We cannot take that risk," Dumbledore explained.

"I have a connection to Voldemort too…" Annalisa said quietly and Dumbledore and Aurora glanced at one another.

"What do you mean, Annie?" Aurora asked softly.

"That night…when…when Cedric was killed…Voldemort told me that I had an uncle in Azkaban and that he was related to you. Then he told me that Grandmum is related to him…to Voldemort," Annalisa said and Aurora paled visibly.

"Did he name that uncle?" Dumbledore asked.

Annalisa nodded. "Alfred Badeau."

"What about that scum of the Earth?" Alicia asked as she entered the room. Everyone turned towards her.

"Grandmum, Voldemort said that you…that you're his sister," Annalisa said and Alicia sighed heavily.

"So you haven't told them the truth, Aurora?" Alicia asked.

"I was trying to protect them like you tried to protect us, Mum. I always thought that there was a possibility that Voldemort could come back but I never thought he'd come back like this…I was going to explain everything to you three when I thought the time was right…"

"Well, now's the time, Rora. I'll start," Alicia said as she sat on Dumbledore's desk. "Thomas is my twin brother."

"Thomas Marvolo Riddle is Voldemort…" Annalisa said quietly, repeating what a young image of Voldemort had told her and Harry when they had been in the Chamber of Secrets during their second year.

"How did you know his full name?" Alicia asked curiously.

"During my second year here as a student, Harry and I had to rescue Ginny Weasley; she was dying in the Chamber of Secrets. There was a vision of a teenage boy there; Harry had seen him before in a diary. It's really complicated to explain…But he had written his name in the air with his wand: Tom Marvolo Riddle…'I am Voldemort'."

"The Chamber of Secrets? He opened that dreadful chamber again?" Alicia asked and Aurora and Dumbledore nodded gravely. Alicia groaned and shook her head before she continued. "Yes, that's him alright. So my guesses were correct…" Dumbledore cleared his throat and Alicia rolled her eyes.

"My brother opened the Chamber of Secrets back in his fifth year and killed a Muggle-born girl who is now known as Moaning Myrtle. I confronted him about it…I knew then that he was completely out of control…Anyway, he is my brother but I'm not proud to be his sister. In fact, I'm surprised he told you that we were related at all. He was always ashamed of me because I had been sorted into Ravenclaw and then married a Muggle," Alicia continued. "The biggest offense. He's always been this way, let me tell you. I won't go into detail because you're still too young but eventually you'll know the truth. Thomas Riddle Junior is a sick, sick person. As for that other man…it's the truth. I had two sons, twins; Timothy and Alfred."

Alicia looked away, her eyes filled with tears. "Remember how I told you that Voldemort had killed your Uncle Tim?" Aurora asked her children, taking the conversation over. Her children nodded. "Well, it wasn't Voldemort. Alfred killed Tim and his wife, Thekla. The boys were killed by Rodolphus Lestrange and Fenrir Greyback. Like your grandmum, I was ashamed of my brother," Aurora explained.

"But why would he kill his own twin?" Conri asked, appalled as he looked at his own twin. "Is family betrayal a tradition in this family?"

"You will not betray Rupert the way that Voldemort betrayed your grandmother or the way that your uncle betrayed your other uncle. Not unless you want to. Voldemort betrayed your grandmother because he was ashamed of her and because he's completely evil; Alfred betrayed Tim because of jealousy," Aurora confirmed.

"Jealousy?" Rupert asked.

"Alfred was jealous of Tim because he had the life: a great job, a loving wife, two sons, and a connection to Voldemort," Alicia spoke.

"A connection? Like Harry's?" Annalisa asked.

"No…like mine," Aurora said and her kids looked at her in shock. "Remember I told you that he was a Parselmouth? Well, he also could see things…premonitions. Not all of them came true but most did. I have that as well but only concerning Voldemort."

"So, there's five Parselmouths in this family?" Annalisa asked gloomily.

"Your grandmother is one as well. So six…and to be one means to be the true heir to the Slytherin throne," Aurora added. "I've hated it since I found out what it was. That's why I hate snakes; that's a small reason why I was placed in Ravenclaw."

"This is a bit freaky…" Annalisa said and Dumbledore chuckled.

"Family can be freaky indeed," he said and Annalisa nodded with her brothers, mother, and grandmother. "Now, what rule did I say that you have to abide this summer?"

"Do not write to Harry Potter," Conri, Rupert, and Annalisa chorused reluctantly.

"Good. You may all go now. I have many things I need to do," he finished and the teens, their mother and grandmother, left the office and made their way down to Aurora's classroom.

"I can't believe it…Uncle Tim was a Parselmouth and that's a reason why his twin killed him?" Annalisa asked when they walked into the classroom.

"Yes, but please drop the subject. Your grandmother is still trying to get over that," Aurora whispered back as she sat down behind her desk. Just as she sat down, Severus came storming into the room, his wand pointed straight at her.

"YOU!"

* * *

Hehehe...cliffhanger! I'm gonna leave it here and see what you all come up with. Please, feel free to tell me whar you think is gonna happen next! I want to hear ideas. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. So now we're on to book/movie 5! I need to really start kicking into book 6 now. I've been cheating and started on book 7 already XD _**So, please leave a review**_! Thanks. -Siriusgrl88


	2. Bad Timing

Ok, here goes. Disclaimer: Annalisa Dairine Black, Aurora Clementine Badeau, Conri Carmine Black, Rupert Severus Badeau (Lupin-Snape), Aberto Adriano Badeau, Alicia Doireann Badeau (nee Riddle), Timothy Durante Badeau, Alfred Cillain Badeau, Holly Caoimhe Badeau, Nicola Sorcha Badeau, Italia Isla Badeau, Thekla Sophia Badeau (nee Metaxas), Maximus Eligio Badeau, Alexander Fidel Badeau, Massimo Cillian Badeau, Dolores Maria Badeau (nee DaSilva), anyone else mentioned in my fanfics that aren't in Jo's books are (C) me :)

Pippa Nicole Lupin-LaVigne (C) Ashley :)

Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Fred and George Weasley, and anyone else whom you recognize from the books are (C) Jo Rowling. I'm sorry that it's so short but she has a lot of characters and so do I so if I listed them all, it would take up about half a page.

Enjoy and review!

* * *

Alicia reacted instantly and placed herself in between Severus and Aurora. "Put your damn wand down, you imbecile!" she snapped angrily as she glared at him.

"Out of the way, you old hag!" he glowered and Aurora stepped out from behind her desk.

"Don't talk to my grandmother like that!" Annalisa snapped and Severus glared over at her.

"Severus, what in God's name is going on?" Aurora asked as she herded Rupert, Conri, and Annalisa behind her.

"You've lied to me for all of these years!"

"What are you talking about?" Aurora looked completely confused. Severus only got angrier.

"Don't lie to me any longer, Aurora! You've been lying to me for years about who his parents really are!"

"Huh?" Aurora looked completely befuddled and Alicia blinked in confusion as the kids looked at each other skeptically.

"He is _my_ son!" Severus lowered his wand and pointed at Rupert, who blinked. Conri and Annalisa looked at him and then each other. All three teens burst into laughter. "I can't believe you let _Black_ raise _my_ son!" He spat Sirius' surname as if it were poison on his tongue.

"Yeah right! He doesn't look a thing like you!" Annalisa said as she laughed. Severus just glared at her. What she had said wasn't completely true. Rupert had sallow skin and dark eyes like Snape but his hair was dirty blonde and his nose wasn't hooked. In fact, he looked more like Remus, which had never occurred to Annalisa and Conri before and it went unnoticed even now.

"And technically, Dad didn't raise any of us...'cause he was in prison," Conri added matter-of-factly. Severus' glare turned icy when he cast his eyes on Conri. Conri just shrugged.

"Severus, what are you going on about?" Aurora asked again, becoming wary and worried. "Who would tell you that load of bull?"

"I would…Except that it's not a load of bull at all…" Aurora's head slowly turned towards the voice and her eyes widened slightly as she took in the sight of an older Pippa. Her hair was long and pulled back into a ponytail. It was platinum blonde now, instead of it's natural dirty blonde color. She was still tall and skinny but her hips were wider and her skin was tanner. She wore a pair of jeans and a simple canary yellow shirt that clung to her curves.

"Pippa?" Aurora said her name quietly and Pippa nervously smiled as she approached.

"Hey, Rora…How have you been?"

"What's your Patronus?" Aurora asked. Pippa faltered slightly but shrugged.

"A Hummingbird. Why would you ask that? I haven't heard anything about Voldemort in years…"

"He's come back," Aurora answered simply and Pippa's eyes grew wide.

"He-He's back? How? When?"

"Just a few weeks ago actually…Somehow, he was able to regenerate. Where have you been, Pippa?"

"Around…"

"Around where? The world?"

"Not all over the world…mainly just Europe, South America, North America, and Australia…"

"My God…Pippa, you had poor Remus going everywhere you've ever wanted to go because he wanted to find you."

"He did?" Pippa frowned and looked away. "I didn't mean to worry all of you…"

"Can we get back to the subject of him being my father?" Rupert asked and everyone looked at him. He didn't believe it at first but the way Aurora looked at Pippa made him suspicious.

Pippa smiled and walked closer towards him. Her eyes looked him up and down and studied his face. "Look at you…The last time I saw you, you were just a one month old babe. You're so tall and handsome. You look like Remus and Severus…" she spoke to him kindly, a sparkling light in her eyes that only mothers have for their children. She reached out to tuck some of his hair behind one of his ears but he shyed away from her. She frowned and awkwardly slid her reaching hand lightly over her own hair. "I'm your mother, Rupert, and Severus is your father," she explained to him.

Rupert blinked and shook his head. "No, she's my mother and Sirius Black is my father," he said as he stepped closer to Aurora. "Tell her that she's wrong, Mum."

Aurora looked away, closing her eyes as tears stung them. 'Why now?' She felt everyone's eyes on her and she sighed heavily, her shoulders slumping in defeat. "I'm not your _biological_ mother," she spoke the most difficult words she would ever speak and the room was suddenly filled with a thick, pregnant silence.

"You're…you're not my mum?" Rupert asked quietly.

Aurora looked at him, her eyes sincere and filled with tears as she turned to face him fully. "Rupert, I'm so sorry that I never told you the truth. She had asked me to keep it a secret from everyone and when she left, I couldn't bear to tell you that your real mother had left you as a baby…The damage it would have done…I was going to tell you when you got older, I swear I was."

"You've lied to me for thirteen years…" Rupert said slowly.

"Ru, she did it to protect you," Annalisa quickly stepped in to try and recover. She understood why her mother had kept it a secret but she also understood why Rupert would feel wounded by it. She gently touched his shoulder as she spoke. "It doesn't matter anyway. This woman was never there for you when you were growing up, Mum was. Mum cleaned your cuts, fed you, bathed you, hugged you, kissed you, has loved you like her own son…You are our brother, Ru, no matter whose blood runs through your veins. Mum has been there for you since you were a baby…This woman left you."

Rupert shook his head and stormed out of the room, thoroughly pissed off and very upset. "Rupert! Wait!" Conri called and ran after his brother. Annalisa turned to Pippa, glaring angrily at her.

"How could you do that to him!? You left him as a baby and now you come in here like it's nobody's business, telling him that everything he's known is a lie! You're a _terrible_ person!" Annalisa snapped and left the room as well.

Aurora rubbed her forehead and sat down behind her desk again. 'What a day…'

"You've raised him to hate me!" Pippa exclaimed angrily. Aurora's eyes shot open and fixed upon Pippa as she stood.

"How dare you accuse me of turning him against you!? He hasn't known you've ever existed, Pippa! You left him when he wasn't even a month old and left Sirius and me a damn note asking us to raise him as our own! That was our agreement before he was born! Don't you recall, Pippa?! You asked Sirius and me to pass him off as our own son because you were afraid that if people knew that he was your son, Severus would come to take him from you or Voldemort would come to kill him! You promised us that you'd help us raise him and that we would tell him when he was of age who his real mother was! You left me when I needed someone!" she exploded, finally losing her cool, as she looked at Pippa in complete anger.

"Did you know, Pippa, that after you left, Remus went after you and then Peter betrayed James and Lily!? They're dead, Pippa! _Dead_! And Sirius went to jail for crimes he never committed! He was framed by Peter!" Aurora finished, her voice having reached a scream. Pippa looked a bit frightened and stepped away as Alicia tried to hold Aurora back.

"James and Lily? They're...dead?" Pippa whispered as tears filled her eyes, her head shaking slightly in disbelief.

"Yes, dead! By Voldemort's own wand! I've done the best damn job I could do while raising those three children, Pippa! I was completely alone! Can you imagine raising two teenage girls, a young child, and three babies all on your own, Pippa?! Can you!? That's what I was doing while you were traipsing around the world! I was raising your son, my children, and my sisters! That boy is my son, regardless of what you say!"

There was a long, tense silence as Aurora's chest heaved and her heart pounded hard in her chest, her mother still holding her arms. Severus looked completely shocked and Pippa looked guilty. After a while, Pippa spoke softly. "Is this how it's going to be, Aurora?"

"What?" Aurora asked bitterly.

"Our friendship, this situation…I was hoping I'd be welcomed back gratefully and happily…"

"You should have thought about that before you went and told Severus that Rupert was his son then," Aurora snapped, still bitter. Pippa nodded as she fidgeted with her keys. "You should have come to me first. We could have told Rupert differently. In fact, you shouldn't have left at all."

"So, you're going to hate me now?"

"I can't ever hate you, Pippa. But I'm not very pleased to see you right now…"

"But I came back!"

"Yeah, you came back and made an already delicate situation even more delicate! Voldemort's back and he could have killed my daughter and my godson, Pippa, and now you come barging in declaring that _my_ son is no longer my son," Aurora said sadly, her eyes filled with stubborn tears.

"I didn't mean to ruin anyone's life," Pippa said quietly. "I just wanted to see my son after so many years…"

"You shouldn't have left him in the first place then," Alicia broke in.

Pippa finally looked at her for the first time. Her facial expression turned from one of guilt to one that clearly said 'I've just seen a ghost'. "Alicia? I thought you were insane?"

"I was in an awake-state of coma. I just recently woke up..." Alicia explained quickly, sounding a bit annoyed by the question now. She quickly jumped back to the more pressing situation. "Your parents would not be proud of you right now, Pippa."

Pippa flinched as the words seemed to actually sting her. "You don't think I know that? I knew that they were probably glaring down on me as I left that house thirteen years ago. And I know that they're probably not happy with me now…Aurora…_please_ believe me when I say I'm sorry…"

"How can I? You've always been selfish, Pippa…I just didn't think you'd ever be this selfish."

"Aurora, please…You've had Rupert his entire life! Why can't I have him now?"

"What are you trying to say, Pippa?" Aurora asked slowly, her eyes intensely wary.

"Well…I live all the way in Romania and I want him to come stay with me out there…" Pippa explained slowly, tentatively.

"What?!" Aurora and Alicia exclaimed together.

"No, I won't allow it," Severus said and they all looked at him.

"Severus…" Pippa began but he shook his head. Clearly she thought that he'd be on her side.

"He's my son too, Pippa. I have a right to actually get to know him."

"You've treated him like crap the moment I moved back here, Severus! You've hated him!" Aurora argued. "Just like you hate Annalisa and Conri."

"At the time I didn't know he was my son!"

"And that changes everything now?!"

"Yes! Now I can get to know him, teach him!" Severus snapped and Aurora huffed as Alicia sighed heavily.

"I don't want him staying here if Voldemort's back," Pippa said. "He'll be safer in Romania!"

"Well, too damn bad, Pippa! Voldemort would spread out that way, anyway. And Rupert's my son!" Aurora snapped.

"Not by blood!" Severus argued.

"I'm the one who raised him!"

"I gave birth to him!"

"He's staying here!"

"He's coming with me!"

"SHUT UP!"

Severus, Aurora, and Pippa snapped their mouths shut and looked over at Alicia, who looked quite annoyed. "Just shut up already! Damn you all! That boy is old enough to make his own decisions and he will. You three will not pester him or try to persuade him. You will all leave him alone. Shut up, Pippa!" Alicia snapped as Pippa began to speak. Pippa's jaw clipped shut. "None of you will talk to him at all, understood?" Silence. "UNDERSTOOD?" The three adults nodded in reluctant agreement and Alicia rolled her eyes. "You're all acting like six year olds fighting over a damn toy. Grow up, will you?" she snapped before she too stormed out of the room, leaving the three unhappy younger adults alone to stew in their anger and despair. Pippa was the first to leave, moving quickly as tears stung her eyes. Severus left not long after her, walking out briskly, his black robes billowing out behind him as he went.

Aurora collapsed into her comfortable desk chair, sliding down it so that she was practically laying in it, her elbows propped up on the arms of the chair, her legs spread out before her. She placed one hand on her forehead, sighing heavily as she closed her eyes. A migraine was beginning at the back of her head, throbbing painfully to life. 'Perfect timing, Pippa...'

* * *

Oi vey! Ok, sorry for the delay! School started on Monday so I've been a bit busy. So here is the second chapter to Part Three! I like this chapter a lot but there are more that I like that are coming up soon too. Oh poor Ru...I love him but I had to make it all angsty XD I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I've only been getting 2 reviews each chapter but I have a lot of readers...what's going on here? I do like reviews, people. It really doesn't take that long. Just tell me whether you liked it or not and tell me what you liked and didn't like. You don't have to get uber detailed about it. But I liked reviews! _**SO GIVE ME REVIEWS PLEASE**_!! Thank you ) -Siriusgrl88


	3. Rupert's Decision

Ok, here goes. Disclaimer: Annalisa Dairine Black, Aurora Clementine Badeau, Conri Carmine Black, Rupert Severus Badeau (Lupin-Snape), Aberto Adriano Badeau, Alicia Doireann Badeau (nee Riddle), Timothy Durante Badeau, Alfred Cillain Badeau, Holly Caoimhe Badeau, Nicola Sorcha Badeau, Italia Isla Badeau, Thekla Sophia Badeau (nee Metaxas), Maximus Eligio Badeau, Alexander Fidel Badeau, Massimo Cillian Badeau, Dolores Maria Badeau (nee DaSilva), anyone else mentioned in my fanfics that aren't in Jo's books are (C) me :)

Pippa Nicole Lupin-LaVigne (C) Ashley :)

Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Fred and George Weasley, and anyone else whom you recognize from the books are (C) Jo Rowling. I'm sorry that it's so short but she has a lot of characters and so do I so if I listed them all, it would take up about half a page.

Enjoy and review!

* * *

Five days had gone by and Rupert still hadn't spoken to Aurora, Severus, or Pippa. In fact, he had hardly spoken a word to his siblings and for the most part, they left him alone so he could think and collect his thoughts. But finally, Conri had had enough of waiting. He and Annalisa patrolled the castle until they found Rupert in an abandoned Charms classroom.

"Ok, enough is enough. We know you're angry but in two days, we're off to see Dad. You need to talk to Mum and this Pippa woman. You're not going to make things uncomfortable for everyone, ok?" Conri started gruffly as he and Annalisa marched over to Rupert, who was in a 'Thinking Man' pose.

Rupert barely glanced at them. Conri crossed his arms and arched a brow in annoyance. Annalisa sighed softly and sat down on top of a desk next to Rupert. She hesitantly and gently touched his shoulder. She was relieved when he didn't move away.

"Ru, we understand that you're mad…We know that you're confused and lost and frustrated and pissed off--"

"No, you don't. None of you know how I feel!" Rupert snapped at her.

She pursed her lips together and frowned.

"You don't think that we're mad? Do you think that we're unaffected by this, Rupert? If you do, you are wrong! We grew up thinking that you were our blood brother and now we find out that you're not our biological brother. How do you think that makes us feel? We're angry and upset too, Rupert. It's unfair of you to think otherwise," Annalisa snapped back and Rupert looked taken aback.

"She's right, Ru. We don't like it either…But you're still our brother. I mean, we grew up with you; we've always called you our brother and we've always been told that you were…until now…but you are _our_ brother. Blood sometimes means nothing anyway. I mean, even Mum has a brother that she never told us about…" Conri said as calmly as he could. Annalisa nodded solemnly and Rupert seemed to be really thinking about what they were saying. He knew what they were talking about and he began to realize that they were right.

"What do I do?" Rupert asked quietly after a few silent moments. Annalisa and Conri both let out deep breaths that they hadn't realized they had been holding.

"You go to Mum and Pippa and _you_ talk to _them_. Tell them how _you_ feel and what _you're_ going to do, what _you_ want," Annalisa responded. Rupert nodded and then stood up. He walked out of the classroom and Annalisa just watched him go.

"Don't we go with him?" Conri asked her.

She shook her head slightly. "No, this is something that he needs to do alone…"

* * *

Rupert took deep breaths to calm himself as he approached his adopted mother's classroom. He turned the corner and stopped at the open doorway. Aurora was sitting at her desk, writing rapidly for some lesson when school began. He watched her for a few moments, silent and unmoving in the large door way.

Her head was bent down; her long, straight black hair hung over one shoulder, the ends skimming the top of her dark wooden desk. Her white peacock feather quill was moving quickly in her hand as she wrote, the soft scratching sound filling the room. She paused momentarily to dip the tip of her quill in a small black ink bottle. Her clear blue eyes were intense and held sadness in them. Her normally evenly rosy cheeks were blotchy and pinker than usual, as if she had just finished crying. She still looked to be around 27 years old but in reality she was actually 35.

He sighed heavily and stepped into the room, slowly approaching her desk. His light footsteps echoed quietly in the room and she looked up when she heard them. She looked startled but relieved as she looked at him warily.

"Hmm…umm…" Rupert cleared his throat slightly. "Can I talk to you? And…and Pippa too? At the same time?"

Aurora nodded and silently picked her wand up from her desk and conjured a Raven Patronus. The Raven cawed and flew away. Mere moments later, Pippa appeared and walked into the room, her eyes wide with interest and hope.

"I…I need to speak with you two," Rupert told her. He didn't seem to know how to speak to her.

Pippa nodded quickly, sitting down at a student's desk diagonal from Aurora's teacher desk. The two older women stared up at Rupert, expectantly waiting. He gulped and shoved his hands in his pockets and looked down at his feet.

"Well, I think we need to get some things straight…" he began a bit slowly, trying to find his footing. He recalled why he was there and suddenly every emotion came back to him. His eyes hardened in determination and he looked up at them, angry and annoyed. "I'm mad…I'm real mad. How could you not tell me that you weren't my real mother?" he directed his first question at Aurora.

"I'm sorry, Rupert…" was all she said as she looked him in the eyes. She was being as sincere as possible.

"You should have trusted me with that information. I had a right to know who my biological parents were. You've lied to me for years…You've pretended to be my mother and told me that Annalisa and Conri were my sister and brother. And you told me that Sirius and Alicia were my family too…How long were you going to keep this secret?"

"Just until I thought you were ready to know…Rupert, please…I'm so sorry that I didn't tell you. I didn't know how and I was afraid that you would leave to try and find your biological mother."

"Would that have been so bad, Aurora?" Pippa asked in a clipped tone. Aurora shot her a glare but quickly looked back at Rupert.

"You are my son, Rupert. I've bathed you, fed you, clothed you, cleaned your wounds, healed your broken bones, taught you, helped you in any way I could…I've done everything a mother can do for her child. I raised you, Rupert, and I'm sorry that I didn't tell you the truth about whose blood runs in your veins…I really am," Aurora finished, looking sincere and guilty and ashamed. Rupert nodded slightly and then turned to Pippa.

"As for you…Why would you leave me? Why would you abandon your own son?"

"I was young, so young, Rupert…I didn't know how to take care of myself let alone a baby boy. I'm sorry that I left you, Rupert…"

"But you didn't just leave me…You left your brother and you left your friends. You left this woman alone; to raise her family without anyone's help. She needed the help. You never came back. You could have come back earlier. I wouldn't have been as mad as I am now…"

Pippa didn't say a word. She frowned and nodded slightly, looking down at her fidgeting hands that lay in her lap.

"I've made my decision…" Rupert said after a long, tense silence. The room became even more tense at his words and Pippa looked back up at him hopefully. "I won't live with you…ever. She's my mum, not you," he said to Pippa bitterly.

She immediately looked upset. Her eyes teared and she looked down at her hands in her lap.

"I don't want to see you again until I'm ready for you to be in my life, alright?"

Pippa nodded, tears almost leaking from her eyes.

Rupert looked over at Aurora and smiled slightly. "I love you, Mum," he whispered and then left the classroom. Aurora felt relieved and guilty all at once again. She and Pippa remained silent for a while as Pippa stared down at her hands and Aurora stared down at her paperwork.

"Pippa…May I ask you something?" Aurora asked after a few seconds. Pippa nodded as she stiffened, as if she knew what the question was going to be. "Did you ever get married?"

Pippa sighed, her shoulders sagging. "Yes…His name is Pierre LaVigne. He's a Muggle-born wizard painter. He's very talented…" she explained as she looked over at Aurora, who looked a bit disappointed. Pippa wiped at her eyes and sniffled slightly, composing herself. "He's staying at the Inn in Hogsmeade. I told him the truth before we had our own children…"

"Wait…you've had other children?" Aurora asked, looking scandalized.

"Well, yes… I have three girls and another son by Pierre. The oldest is Esme Adelaide, she's seven years old. Then there's Genevieve Agatha, who's five, and Lauren Aimee, who's three. Our son is the youngest. His name is Henri Joel and he's only a year old. I have pictures of them, if you'd like to see them," she said, happily distracted as she removed a small packet from her pocket, unfolding it to reveal many pictures of her new family. "They're in town with Pierre but the girls are too scared to come to the castle," Pippa rattled on as the frown grew on Aurora's face. Pippa finally realize something was wrong. "What?"

"You got married and had more children and you never once thought about the son you already had? How could you do that, Pippa? How long did you go pretending that you never had a child before you met Pierre?"

"Aurora, I thought about Rupert everyday…"

"Not good enough, Pippa! You had a son and you ignored him for years and then you go and have more children?"

"Aurora, that's not fair! Was I supposed to stop living just because I had a son?"

"Yes! Yes, because I did! I stopped living the moment James and Lily were killed! I stopped living as soon as Sirius was thrown in jail! I stopped living so my sisters and my children _could_ live!" Aurora yelled angrily and slammed her hands down on her desk as she stood in rage. The ink bottle rattled and tipped over, spilling its contents all over her paper work.

"I'd be damned to stop being me just because I had kids!" Pippa snapped back, staying seated as she glared heatedly at Aurora.

"I didn't have the luxury to be anything but a caregiver to those kids. How dare you ignore the fact that you had a son?!"

"I'm here now, aren't I?!" Pippa snapped, standing up with her hands fisted at her sides.

"You wasted too much time, Pippa! Rupert explained that. So now you can go back to your precious, quiet life in Romania while we fight Voldemort here."

"No, I'm staying here," Pippa said defiantly, looking stubborn and proud. "Pierre wouldn't mind moving here and I can get a job at the Ministry or in Diagon Alley or even in Hogsmeade. I've met my son and I plan to get to know him eventually. And I'll join the Order of the Phoenix if Dumbledore is reassembling it."

Aurora sighed heavily and rolled her eyes. "Fine, do as you wish. But you leave Rupert alone until he's ready to let you know him, got it?"

"He's my son--"

"And he said that he wants nothing to do with you, Pippa. Don't. Push. Him," Aurora's tone was final. She sat down in a huff and grabbed her wand, swinging it in the air silently. The ink spill disappeared from the paperwork and she went back to filling it out, leaving Pippa standing alone. Pippa huffed angrily after a few seconds and stormed out of the room.

* * *

Okie dokie...Here's another chapter. Hope you all like it. Thanks to wickedwench1 and Wessums for the reviews and thanks to Lady Adeline of Masbolle for the alert. I need more reviews people! Oh and btw, lolaa667 and Wessums, thank you for the reviews on chapter 1. -Siriusgrl88


	4. To Privet Drive

Ok, here goes. Disclaimer: Annalisa Dairine Black, Aurora Clementine Badeau, Conri Carmine Black, Rupert Severus Badeau (Lupin-Snape), Aberto Adriano Badeau, Alicia Doireann Badeau (nee Riddle), Timothy Durante Badeau, Alfred Cillain Badeau, Holly Caoimhe Badeau, Nicola Sorcha Badeau, Italia Isla Badeau, Thekla Sophia Badeau (nee Metaxas), Maximus Eligio Badeau, Alexander Fidel Badeau, Massimo Cillian Badeau, Dolores Maria Badeau (nee DaSilva), anyone else mentioned in my fanfics that aren't in Jo's books are (C) me :)

Pippa Nicole Lupin-LaVigne (C) Ashley :)

Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Fred and George Weasley, and anyone else whom you recognize from the books are (C) Jo Rowling. I'm sorry that it's so short but she has a lot of characters and so do I so if I listed them all, it would take up about half a page.

Enjoy and review!

* * *

One early August evening, just as the sun was dipping low towards the horizon, Annalisa, Conri, Rupert, and Aurora made their way through a park, Aurora and Annalisa's arms busy with two sleeping babies. The last several weeks had been going pretty well for all of them. Rupert was talking to Aurora as if nothing happened and he preferred not to talk about it at all but did when he thought it was necessary. The others were content with that and let it be. Things were back to normal and they were happy to keep it that way for as long as they could.

"How much longer until we're there, Mum?" Conri whispered and Aurora alertly looked around.

"In a few minutes; it won't take us long to get through this park," she whispered back and smiled at a young married Muggle couple as they passed, the woman cooing at the babies and then telling her husband that she wanted lots of babies. Three minutes later Aurora and her brood were at the street they needed to be. Aurora looked around and then crossed it quickly, her children following on her heels. She stopped in front of 11 and 13 Grimmauld Place.

"Where's 12 Grimmauld Place?" Rupert asked and Aurora smirked. She closed her eyes and thought clearly.

'_The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London_.' As she opened her eyes, the two homes, number 11 and 13, began to separate and reveal another home, this one being number 12. Conri and Rupert gaped in awe as Annalisa smiled and tried to cover Maria's ears. The Muggles inside their homes did not feel or see anything happen as number 12 fully revealed itself.

"Well, let's go," Aurora said and she approached the door, which she knocked on twice. She heard someone walk to it and knew that they were looking at her and the children through the peephole.

"What's your Patronus?" Arthur's voice said through the door. Aurora smiled.

"A raven because my mother's Animagus form is a raven," Aurora answered and the door swung open. She and the children stepped into the dingy, dimly lit, dusty hallway and Annalisa, Conri, and Rupert followed Aurora and Arthur. Sirius was in the Dining Room when he saw Aurora and his children. He grinned form ear-to-ear and jumped up to go to his wife, whom he kissed lovingly and passionately. His sons grimaced and made faces before Sirius grabbed them both and hugged them to him tightly, kissing their heads and ruffling their hair. He turned to Annalisa and kissed her forehead before he kissed Maria's and then Faolan's little heads.

"Annalisa, take Maria and Faolan up to your father's room for me, will you?"

"Don't we get to listen to your news?" Rupert asked, peeking into the Dining Room at Arthur, Mundungus, Bill, Charlie, Molly, Remus, Tonks, Moody, Shacklebolt, Hestia Jones, and Dedalus Diggle.

"Nope," Aurora answered and handed Faolan to Annalisa, who was able to balance both babies.

"Actually, Aurora, we need someone to show us around that Muggle house," Moody said and Aurora looked at him quizzically. "We're going to go get Harry Potter right now."

"Oh, Mum! Please, let me go!" Annalisa begged.

"What about us?" Conri and Rupert asked together.

"Annalisa's been inside of the Dursley's house before; the two of you haven't….I suppose you can go, Annie," she conceded and Annalisa held her squeal of excitement down. She handed Maria to Conri and Faolan to Rupert.

"Now, off with the two of you," Aurora shooed her boys off as they grumbled and kissed their heads as they walked by her. She turned back to Sirius and smiled, linking her hand with his as he led her into the Dining Room. The others greeted her happily and she sat down at the table just when Molly got up to get her a drink of red currant rum.

"Do you have a broom?" Moody asked Annalisa and she nodded, grinning as she grabbed and held up her Sienna Storm that Sirius and Aurora had gotten her for her birthday. Sirius had been keeping it at the house for her because he knew they were going to be spending the last month of the summer there anyway.

"Oh a Sienna Storm! Fantastic! Is it really as good as they say?" Tonks asked and Annalisa nodded. She was about to go into detail when Moody cleared his throat.

"We need to go now," he growled and Annalisa looked at her mother and father.

"Be careful, love bug," Sirius said and Aurora nodded, both smiling at her. She grinned and hurried out of the house with Moody, Remus, Tonks, Shacklebolt, Hestia Jones, and Dedalus Diggle.

* * *

Annalisa mounted her broom just as the rest were; they looked around before taking off. Annalisa smiled as they zigzagged through the air, the wind blowing her long, wavy black hair behind her as she followed the adults. They swerved around buildings and Annalisa knew that they were going so fast that no Muggle would see them, especially in the dark since night had fallen now. They arrived at Number Six Privet Drive within half an hour. They landed discreetly in the Dursley's front yard. They all ducked down as Moody used his magical eye to look around. Then they stood and Annalisa led the way to the front door. She looked back at the adults expectantly and Tonks realized what she was waiting for.

"_Alohamora_," Tonks whispered and the door unlocked and Annalisa pushed it open. She peeked in and looked around before leading them through the house. Tonks managed to knock a table into a wall and they all flinched at the loud thud and looked back at her accusingly. "Sorry," she muttered sheepishly and tried to fix the table. They got to the stairs and they carefully crept up them. When they got to the hall, Annalisa led them towards Harry's room but not before Tonks dumped into a large painting that made a loud grating sound against the wall. "Sorry…these Muggles are unnaturally tidy, don't you think?"

Annalisa giggled and stopped in front of Harry's door. She slowly turned the knob and gently pushed the door open. Harry stood facing her, his wand raised and his hair as disheveled as ever.

"Harry!" Annalisa greeted and Harry grinned when he saw her. They hugged and Harry looked at the adults in the room and hallway. "This is Tonks, Harry; she's a cousin of mine. That's Kingsley Shacklebolt; he's an Auror at the Ministry. You know Remus and Moody…That's Hestia Jones and Dedalus Diggle; they're both Order members," Annalisa explained.

"Order members?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, the Order of the Phoenix. I'll explain more when we get to where we need to go. For now, we need to pack your stuff," she said and he nodded. He grabbed his trunk and then went to his drawer. She went to his closet and pulled out all of his clothes. She laid them out on his bed and then looked gloomily at Remus. "I can't use magic…" she said and Remus smiled slightly. He used his wand to fold the clothes together and lay themselves in Harry's trunk.

"I can never do that. Mum's a bit ashamed about it too…Watch," Tonks said as she enchanted a pair of Harry's socks to fold but instead just had them tie each other in a knot. "See?"

Harry and Annalisa laughed. Soon, Harry's trunk was ready to go and Annalisa grabbed Hedwig for him. The white owl nibbled at her fingers affectionately when she reached in to pet her. Annalisa smiled and followed the others down the stairs and out of the front door again.

"So, where are you leading me?" Harry asked Moody. "I got a letter from the Ministry saying that I was expelled."

"Well, you haven't been. Kinglsey, you explain it," Moody said gruffly.

"Dumbledore has persuaded the Minister to not expel you. But you have a hearing to go to, to prove your innocence."

"A hearing?" Harry asked.

"What did you do, Harry?" Annalisa asked, having not heard the news yet. She looked curious and disapproving all at once.

"I chased away two Dementors by using the Patronus Charm in front of Dudley," Harry said and Annalisa frowned.

"They can't expel you for that. You were protecting yourself and Dudley and that's the one exception to that law: you can only use magic in front of a Muggle in a life or death situation," she explained. Moody looked impressed.

"Don't worry, Harry. We'll explain everything to you when we get to Headquarters," Tonks said.

"Not here, Nymphadora," Moody growled and Tonks glared at him, her hair changing from its bubblegum pink color to a fiery red color. Harry looked amazed.

"Don't call me that! I hate it!" she snapped. Moody ignored her by making Harry's trunk and Hedwig's cage feather light and then tied them to Harry's Firebolt.

"Stay in formation, no matter what! Even if one of us is killed," Moody said to them all and Annalisa rolled her eyes. They mounted their brooms, looked around, and took off. Annalisa, Harry, and Tonks flew equal with one another, all grinning at each other. They flew over rivers, between and over buildings, under bridges, they even flew by the House of Parliament. About half an hour later, they arrived in the park right in front of Grimmauld Place. They got off of their brooms and heading towards the houses. When they got there, Moody handed Harry a piece of paper. Harry looked at it and Annalisa looked at it from over his shoulder. "Don't read it aloud, boy. Say it in your head," Moody growled and Harry obeyed.

Suddenly, like before, the houses moved aside to reveal 12 Grimmauld Place.

* * *

Another chappie. Yippee! But as I progress with Book/Movie 5, I realize that I need to get my butt into gear and finish Book 6 XD Thanks to Wessums, Thea Wolf, and wickedwench1 for the reviews! Enjoy the chapter. _**Please review**_. Thanks. -Siriusgrl88


	5. Arguments

Ok, here goes. Disclaimer: Annalisa Dairine Black, Aurora Clementine Badeau, Conri Carmine Black, Rupert Severus Badeau (Lupin-Snape), Aberto Adriano Badeau, Alicia Doireann Badeau (nee Riddle), Timothy Durante Badeau, Alfred Cillain Badeau, Holly Caoimhe Badeau, Nicola Sorcha Badeau, Italia Isla Badeau, Thekla Sophia Badeau (nee Metaxas), Maximus Eligio Badeau, Alexander Fidel Badeau, Massimo Cillian Badeau, Dolores Maria Badeau (nee DaSilva), anyone else mentioned in my fanfics that aren't in Jo's books are (C) me :)

Pippa Nicole Lupin-LaVigne (C) Ashley :)

Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Fred and George Weasley, and anyone else whom you recognize from the books are (C) Jo Rowling. I'm sorry that it's so short but she has a lot of characters and so do I so if I listed them all, it would take up about half a page.

Enjoy and review!

* * *

When Molly came back to the table, she handed the large mug to Aurora, who took it gratefully and sipped at it. "So, what's happening now?"

"Well, we've figured out what he's after," Arthur replied.

"We _think_ we've figured it out at least," Molly corrected as she sat down next to her husband.

"What do we think it is then?" Aurora asked and Sirius became quite…well, serious.

"A Prophecy," he responded.

Aurora blinked at him. "What Prophecy?"

"One involving You-Know-Who and Harry," Bill said and Aurora felt her stomach drop.

"In other news, Harry's gotten into trouble with the Ministry again," Charlie added and Aurora arched an eye brow.

"He has, has he? Honestly, he's getting to be a bit too much like this father and godfather," Aurora muttered and Sirius grinned. "That wasn't a compliment, darling," she added and Sirius still grinned.

"I know," he answered and kissed her nose, which she wrinkled at him.

"What did he do now? He didn't blow the house up this time, did he?" she asked and the men chuckled but Molly looked a bit peeved.

"This is serious, Aurora!" Molly reprimanded and Aurora couldn't help but smile slightly.

"Yes, Mummy," she mumbled and Molly glared. "But seriously, what did he do?"

"He performed the Patronus Charm in front of a Muggle boy named Dudley Dursley," Charlie answered and Aurora snorted slightly as she took a gulp of her red currant rum.

"Dudley? He's used to magic by now…but a Patronus? Why would Harry do that?"

"Two Dementors showed up near his home," Bill responded.

Aurora blanched. "Dementors? In Little Whinging? What were they doing there?"

"We have no idea; that's what's strange…" Arthur threw in.

"Anyway, back to Order business…" Molly said and Aurora nodded. "We need to stop You-Know-Who from getting whatever he wants…but it's going to be difficult," she continued.

"Still no sightings, I take it?" Aurora asked and the others sighed in exasperation.

"No sightings. No deaths. No proof that he's back…" Arthur said tersely.

"He almost killed Harry and Annalisa and he did kill Cedric Diggory…If that's not proof enough, than I don't know what is!" Sirius objected.

"But no one believes us," Bill argued. "And that's the objective, right?"

Sirius grumbled and looked away.

"Guarding the You-Know-What is the most important task we have at the moment," Molly added.

"Finding Voldemort should be our priority, not this weapon," Sirius argued.

"We must trust Albus on this! He knows what he's doing," Arthur told Sirius.

"Oh yes, that's all fine and dandy but he failed to protect my godson and my daughter last year, didn't he?"

"Sirius," Aurora said softly but he went on, ignoring her.

"I say we take action tonight! Cornelius Fudge is a politician first and a wizard second. His instincts are to ignore it--"

"Voices down, please!" Molly hissed out from between her teeth as Arthur, Remus, Bill, and Charlie began to interject.

But Sirius went on. "He's getting stronger and stronger every second. We need to act now!"

Sirius suddenly stopped and was looking out the open door of the Dining Room. Aurora turned and, through the door, she spotted Harry and Annalisa. She smiled but stayed in her seat as Molly got up and went to Harry, closing the Dining Room door behind her.

"Are you alright?" Molly asked as she pulled away from him slightly, looking at him intently.

"Yeah," he answered quietly, looking solemn and unhappy.

"You look a bit peaky but you'll have to wait for dinner." Harry began to protest but she cut in quickly. "There's really no time to explain anything to you so go straight upstairs; I bet you're positively exhausted. It's the first door on the left. Annalisa, you know the way," Molly encouraged him to go upstairs and he did, though reluctantly following Annalisa. As he entered the first door on the left, he looked up and saw Ron and Hermione as Annalisa stepped out of Harry's way. Hermione reacted instantly, jumping up and hugging him.

"Harry!" she cried and Ron rolled his eyes. She pulled away from him and looked at him worriedly.

"Are you alright?" Hermione asked in concern. "We heard about the Dementors."

"Well, technically, we _over_heard about the Dementors," Ron explained, smiling sheepishly.

"You must tell us everything, Harry!" Hermione insisted and Ron almost chuckled.

"Let the guy breathe and relax for a minute, 'Mione," he said and Annalisa nodded. Hermione paid no heed.

"This silly hearing at the Ministry is just completely outrageous. I researched it. They won't expel you…they can't. It would be completely unfair!" she protested but Harry just stepped around her and walked over to a bed.

"Yeah…There's a lot of unfairness going around right now…So…what is this place anyway?"

"Dad's mum's house," Annalisa explained. "'_The Most Ancient and Noble House of Black_'; otherwise known as Order of the Phoenix headquarters."

"What's the Order of the Phoenix?" Harry asked next.

"Oh yeah," Annalisa remembered telling him that she would explain that to him when they got there. "A secret society of sorts. Dumbledore created it back in the '70s to fight against Voldemort and his Death Eaters. They've united again since he came back…Though, there aren't as many now as there were back then…" Annalisa explained as she sat down on Ron's bed.

"And you couldn't put any of that in a letter?" Harry snapped and Annalisa sighed. She had been waiting for this. "I've gone the entire summer without a single scrap of news. Why didn't any of you write me? I've been worried and I wanted to know what was going on!" he snapped angrily. Annalisa, Ron, and Hermione flinched.

"We weren't permitted. I tried to convince Dumbledore to let us write you about what was going on, Harry, I swear; but he wouldn't let any of us write you 'in case our letters went astray,'" Annalisa quoted. "Plus, we don't even know what's really going on either," she added with a shrug.

"We wanted to write to you, mate. Honestly, we really did. But, like Annie said, we weren't allowed," Ron added.

"Dumbledore? Dumbledore said you couldn't write to me about what was going on?" Harry sounded betrayed and Annalisa and Hermione exchanged worried looks. "But why would he not want me to know? Why would he want me to be left in the dark about everything that's been going on? Maybe I could help out somehow! After all, Anna and I were the ones who saw Voldemort return…We were there! I'm the one who fought him…we both saw Cedric get murdered. I've been stuck at the Dursley's all summer without anything to do; worried that something terrible was happening in the wizarding world. I watched the news for any suspicious deaths or strange happenings but there wasn't anything on the channels," Harry yelled and suddenly, Conri and Rupert were in the doorway and George and Fred Apparated into the room, right next to Harry.

"Thought we heard your dulcet voice, Harry," George said sarcastically as he grinned.

"Let it out, mate, go on," Fred encouraged.

"Yeah, no use keeping it all in," George added.

"Harry, we're sorry, alright? We had no choice!" Annalisa snapped, her arms crossing. Hermione looked a bit panicked and the others seemed to be a bit surprised but Harry just glared at Annalisa.

"You could have sneaked an owl out to me! You could have done something!" Harry snapped back and Annalisa rolled her eyes.

"Look, I've had enough problems this summer; I don't need your nasty attitude, alright? You can be as mad as you like, but I'm not going to deal with it. So you either direct your anger elsewhere or you deal with it and move on," Annalisa told him with a slightly authoritative tone. Harry just blinked angrily at her but eventually gave up and sat down on one of the beds.

"He was really angry, you know…about the Dementors. Dumbledore, I mean," Conri said as he sat down across from Harry on another bed.

"Yeah, and you're not the only angry one, mate," Rupert added. "I found out about a week ago that I'm adopted." Harry stared surprisingly up at Rupert.

"You're adopted?" he asked and Rupert nodded as he sat down.

"Yeah, kinda nasty way to find out too…My father…well…we all have known him for years," Rupert tried and Annalisa sighed softly as she moved and sat down across from Harry and between her brothers.

"His father is Severus Snape and his mother is Pippa Lupin-LaVigne. Pippa is Remus' younger sister and one of Mum and Dad's old friends," Annalisa explained for Rupert, who looked a bit relieved.

"Your dad is _Snape_?" Harry gaped. Rupert flushed and nodded.

"But only biologically," Conri said quickly. "He's decided to stay with Mum and Dad."

Rupert smiled and nodded again. "Yeah…I mean, Snape has never treated me like a human and I don't even know this Pippa woman. I just figured that, in a time like this, I'd stick with what I know."

Everyone became quiet for a bit and Ron, Hermione, Fred, and George all joined Harry, Conri, Rupert, and Annalisa by sitting on the beds. "So…what else has been going on?" Harry asked quietly and Annalisa frowned as the others exchanged looks. "What? Tell me, please," Harry pleaded.

"The _Daily Prophet_ and the Ministry don't believe us, Harry," Annalisa answered and Harry looked at her, looking a bit confused. "They're saying that Dumbledore is spouting lies about Voldemort and that somehow, he's trying to get Fudge out of office so he can take over the Ministry. They say that you and I are lying because we just want to be the center of attention. Though, they didn't say it in so many words…"

"They're being downright nasty," Hermione grumbled. "They're the ones lying and making up stories."

"Mum says Fudge will be the end of us all if he remains in office for too much longer," Conri added.

"He's being a stupid git," Fred and George chorused and everyone nodded.

"So…who else doesn't believe us?" Harry asked Annalisa more than the others.

"Anyone who believes that crock-of-shit _Prophet_," she scowled and George grinned.

"Your girlfriend has a dirty mouth," Fred teased and George's grin only grew.

"I know…It turns me on," he said and everyone gagged except for Annalisa, who instead turned eight shades of red.

"Well, if you're finished with shouting, would you like to listen to something a bit more appealing?" Fred asked Harry.

"What do you mean?"

"George…not again. If your mother finds out--" Annalisa began.

"She won't unless _someone_ tells her," George interrupted her, giving her a look. She frowned and glared at him but said nothing else. "Look, Harry, my good ole partner," he patted Fred's shoulder, "and I have been making more products for our Weasley Wizard Wheezes. We've got more candies but we're still testing them out. But we've made Extendable Ears…Fred, will you do the honors?"

"Of course, I will, George," Fred said as he pulled out three Extendable Ears, which were human looking ears with a very long funnel attached to it. "All you do is put this part wherever you want to hear something and this part goes to your ear so you can hear it. Like so," Fred and George got up and hurried quietly from the room, Conri, Rupert, Hermione, Ron, Annalisa, and Harry following. The older set of twins lowered the ear over the ledge of the hall all the way down to the first floor, right in front of the Dining Room door. They did the same to the other two ears and handed them out. Annalisa, Hermione, and Ginny took one as Ginny joined them and Conri, Rupert, Ron, and Harry shared the other while George and Fred listened with the first one.

* * *

"If anybody has a right to know about what's going on its Harry and Annalisa; especially Harry. Besides, if it weren't for them we wouldn't have ever known that Voldemort was back," Sirius complained again.

"Dumbledore doesn't want any of them to know anything!" Molly protested. "It's not up to just you to decide what's good for Harry! Or have you forgotten what Dumbledore told you?" Molly said sharply.

"Well, he's told me a lot of things, so which bit are you referring to, Molly?" Sirius asked politely.

"The bit about not telling him more than he needs to know," Molly reminded him. Aurora watched Molly carefully, her hands gripping one of Sirius'. Remus' eyes were fixed on Sirius and Arthur was staring at the table as Bill shifted uncomfortably in his seat, his eyes on the ceiling. Tonks was scratching her head and staring at the wall while Mundungus tried to edge out of the room silently. Shacklebolt and Moody were sitting across from one another.

"And I don't plan on telling him more than he needs to know. But seeing as how he and my oldest daughter saw Voldemort being reborn, they have a right--"

"They're not members! Their only fifteen and--"

"And they've both dealt with more than half of the Order!"

"No one's denying that, but they're still too youn--"

"They aren't children!" Sirius snapped irritably. Aurora's hands squeezed Sirius' just a bit harder as her eyes remained on Molly.

"They're not adults either, Sirius! Harry is _not_ James!" Molly hit low and she knew it. Sirius scowled and Aurora sighed heavily.

"I know who he is and who he isn't, Molly…thanks," Sirius grumbled.

"I'm not so sure about that. Sometimes you talk to him as if you've gotten your best friend back! They're still attending Hogwarts as students and the adults responsible for them should not forget that!"

"Are you calling me an irresponsible father and godfather?" Sirius asked angrily, standing up, his chair groaning as it skidded slightly across the wooden floors. Aurora's eyes snapped to Sirius and she gently tugged on his arm but he ignored her.

"You've been known to act very rashly and illogically, which is a huge reason why Dumbledore keeps reminding you--" Molly started, her fists on her hips.

"We'll keep that information out of this discussion, if you please!" Sirius all but growled at Molly. Molly looked to Arthur finally.

"Back me up on this, Arthur!" she pleaded and Arthur sighed, closing his tired eyes. Aurora's hands still clung tightly to one of Sirius' as she watched. After a few quiet moments, Arthur spoke.

"Dumbledore understands that the situation has been slightly altered, Molly. He's accepted that Harry will have to be told some things while staying at the headquarters."

"But there's a difference between that and telling him to ask whatever he wishes!"

"Personally," Remus spoke up and everyone looked at him. "I think it's a good idea to tell Harry some information. At least he will be hearing the information from us and not a mangled version from others."

"They have a point, Mum," Bill added and received a scathingly look from his mother. As Molly looked around, Moody, Kingsley, and Tonks all nodded in agreement with Sirius. Mundungus just shrugged in indifference.

"What about you, Aurora?" Molly asked and everyone looked at Aurora now. Aurora swallowed and thought about her words wisely.

"As a mother, I want to protect Harry and my children but as an Order member, I believe we should tell him some facts. If it were me in Harry's shoes, I would want to know everything and I'm sure he does, but as an adult, I know that it's not safe to tell him absolutely everything," she began. "Molly, Harry will never be completely safe as long as Voldemort is alive," she continued as she watched Molly, who looked a bit enraged. "None of us will be completely safe but Harry is Voldemort's chosen enemy. He won't ever stop going after Harry as long as Harry lives. I understand that means that we need to protect him more but that doesn't mean keeping him in the dark about everything, Molly. It might hinder more than help. He needs to know. He has a right to know. They all do."

"Fine. I can see I've been overruled. But Dumbledore must have a good reason for not wanting Harry to know anything too important and speaking as someone who has his best interests at hea--"

"He's not your son," Sirius spoke quietly and Molly's eyes darted towards him.

"He's as good as a son to me!" she snapped. "Besides, who else does he have?"

"He has us!" Sirius yelled and Aurora even got angry.

"But the thing is that it's been rather difficult for you to watch after him while you were in Azkaban and you at Hogwarts," Molly said scathingly.

"That's enough, Molly," Aurora said as Molly opened her mouth to say something else. "He might be as good as a son to you, but you forget that he is just as much of a son to us as Conri and Rupert are. And I would have taken Harry with me to Hogwarts but Dumbledore _has his reasons_ for making him stay at the Dursleys," she put some emphasis on part of the sentence, quoting Molly to an extent. "You're not the only one who cares about Harry," Aurora added as she yanked Sirius back down to his chair without a word. He landed in it with a soft thud and looked at his wife, who was still staring Molly down.

"How very paternal of you, Black. Maybe Potter will become a felon when he gets older, just like his godfather," Snape sneered.

"You stay out of this, Snivellus," Sirius snarled.

"Will the two of you stop it? I'm sick of the arguing. I had enough of it at Hogwarts, I don't need to hear more here," Aurora snapped irritably.

"I'm so sorry to annoy you, Aurora," Severus scoffed.

"Oh shut up, Severus. I'm sick of hearing the two of you battle verbally like fifth years. Didn't we all grow up?"

* * *

"Snape's a part of the Order?" Harry asked quietly and Annalisa nodded.

"He's been coming in and out for the last few nights," Conri said and everyone looked at him suspiciously.

"What? I haven't been sleeping well so I stay up at night and wander the school. I just so happened to overhear Mum and Snape talking one night about meeting at the headquarters for the Order," he explained. Then they all listened in to the adult's conversations again.

"I should tell Dumbledore the truth about your supposed reformation. I know better…" Sirius went on, ignoring Aurora when she tried to shut him up.

"So why don't you tell him?" Severus went on but suddenly, Cleo and Crookshanks, Annalisa's and Hermione's cats, began to bat and nip at the ears that were hanging about five inches above the ground. George, Fred, and the others tried to pull the ears up but suddenly both cats had all of the ears and were gnawing on them.

"Get off!" George hissed low as he tried to yank his Extendable Ear up.

"Cleo! Cleo, stop!" Annalisa whispered urgently to her cat, who promptly ignored her.

"Crookshanks! Stop it! Let it go, Crookshanks," Hermione whispered.

"Cleo!" Annalisa whined and suddenly, the ear that Cleo had broke off of its funnel and she trotted away proudly with the ear. Crookshanks wasn't far behind her with one of the other ears. The third was completely torn apart.

"We hate your cats…" Fred said to Hermione and Annalisa and George nodded in agreement.

Hermione and Annalisa looked at one another sheepishly and shrugged apologetically at the others.

* * *

Well, it's been a while, hasn't it? Sorry it took me so long to update. School contributed and I only got one review for the last chapter so I wasn't really on top of updating this right away. But here's a new chapter. I hope you all enjoy it. Thanks to lolaa667 for the review. _**Please review, readers.**_ -Siriusgrl88


	6. Dinner

Ok, here goes. Disclaimer: Annalisa Dairine Black, Aurora Clementine Badeau, Conri Carmine Black, Rupert Severus Badeau (Lupin-Snape), Aberto Adriano Badeau, Alicia Doireann Badeau (nee Riddle), Timothy Durante Badeau, Alfred Cillain Badeau, Holly Caoimhe Badeau, Nicola Sorcha Badeau, Italia Isla Badeau, Thekla Sophia Badeau (nee Metaxas), Maximus Eligio Badeau, Alexander Fidel Badeau, Massimo Cillian Badeau, Dolores Maria Badeau (nee DaSilva), anyone else mentioned in my fanfics that aren't in Jo's books are (C) me :)

Pippa Nicole Lupin-LaVigne (C) Ashley :)

Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Fred and George Weasley, and anyone else whom you recognize from the books are (C) Jo Rowling. I'm sorry that it's so short but she has a lot of characters and so do I so if I listed them all, it would take up about half a page.

Enjoy and review!

* * *

"Well, we'll be having dinner now," Molly said to the teens as they all traipsed down the stairs. Suddenly, Fred and George Apparated on either side of her with two loud cracks and she jumped in surprise before whirling on them, slapping their upper arms. "Just because you're both of age now doesn't mean you have to do magic all of the time!" she hollered after them as Ginny and Ron edged pass her. "They'll be the death of me, mark my words." She then turned to Harry. "Harry, are you still hungry, dear?"

Harry nodded as Mr. Weasley wrapped an arm around his wife's shoulders. "You alright, Harry? You gave us quite a scare," he said to Harry, who smiled a bit nervously.

"Harry Potter…" Sirius said from behind Molly and Arthur, who moved away so Harry and Sirius could finally see each other. Harry grinned happily. "Do I get a hug as well?"

"Sirius," Harry said before the two hugged like father and son. Aurora smiled and was a bit surprised when Harry hugged her with just as much eagerness. She laughed softly and hugged him back before gently pushing him away at arm's length to get a better look at him.

"Look at you! It's good to have you back, Harry," she said and kissed his forehead before he hugged Remus and then they all sat down at the table for dinner.

"FRED! GEORGE! JUST CARRY THEM OUT! _NOOOO_!" Molly cried and Aurora turned to see that Fred and George had bewitched the cauldron of stew, a flagon of Butterbeer, and a bread board with its knife to fly into the dining room. Aurora flinched as the cauldron of stew skidded across the table, fortunately not spilling all over the place, and she watched as the Butterbeer flagon dropped and shattered on the floor. Then she gasped as the knife from the bread board landed precisely where Sirius' hand had been seconds before. She sighed and pulled her wand out, cleaning up the broke flagon and the thick Butterbeer from the floor.

"You two do that again and I'll destroy those Extendable Ears of yours," she whispered to the twins, who looked at her with wide eyes. She walked back into the kitchen to make another couple of liters of Butterbeer as Molly gave the two a good earful. Even Arthur told them off a bit, though not as enthusiastically as his wife. Finally, everyone sat down at the table and began to eat their dinner. Annalisa looked around the table from her seat between George and Hermione.

Aurora sat next to Sirius, the two talking with Shacklebolt, Moody, and Remus. Fred, George, Conri, Rupert, and Ron were intently listening to some of Mundungus' tales on her left while Hermione and Ginny giggled incessantly at Tonks to the right, who was changing her face from a duck to a pig to a cat to a horse. Bill, Molly, and Arthur were arguing over Bill's long hair. Annalisa glanced over at Harry, who was sitting on the other side of Hermione. Their eyes locked and she smiled slightly at him. He barely managed a smile. She frowned but took a nibble at her bread. Suddenly, George's arm was wrapped around her and she was gently pulled closer to his side. She looked up at him, blinking expectantly at him. He grinned at her and turned back to Mundungus.

"This is my girlfriend, Dung," George told him and Mundungus grinned toothily, his eyes twinkling as he winked at George.

"Landed a good lookin' one, there, you did. Pretty lassie, she is," Mundungus complimented and Annalisa's cheeks flushed.

"She's not that pretty," Conri teased under his breath and Annalisa reached over to hit him upside the head. He growled and they began to play wrestle behind Fred and George's back.

"Hey, you two," Aurora snapped and they stopped, sitting bolt upright in their chairs, smiling innocently at their parents. Sirius just grinned, winking at the two of them. Aurora elbowed him gently in his stomach and he nipped at her shoulder which made her blush. The conversations carried on until everyone was done with their dinners. Molly and Aurora quickly cleaned up with some help from the teens.

"This is very unusual indeed. It appears that your hearing will be before the whole Wizengamot," Arthur explained to Harry when the teens rejoined the table.

"That's a bit extreme..." Annalisa said with a creased brow.

"What's the Wizengamot?" Harry asked in curious worry.

"It's a large group of older, prominent wizards and witches of the community that serve as a high court of law," Hermione stated as if she were an audible book.

"Oh...but...do they normally have the Wizengamot deal with cases like mine?"

"No, normally not. That's why it's unusual," Annalisa responded a bit sarcastically. "They're just doing it because Fudge has told them to." Her voice was bitter and disappointed.

"I don't get it though…What do they have against me?" Harry asked.

"Show him," Moody spoke from behind the table in a gruff voice. "He'll find out sooner or later anyway."

Kingsley nodded and handed Harry a _Daily Prophet_. Harry read the headline right above a picture of himself: _**The Boy Who Lies! **_flashed above a picture of Harry, who looked reluctant and disturbed in the picture. Harry looked over at Annalisa, who looked at the wall, her eyes set in a glare, sparking with frustration and fury. Her hands were clenched into fists on her lap and George patted her knee.

"They've been attacking Annalisa, Dumbledore, and Aurora as well," Sirius explained.

"Even you?" Harry asked Aurora, who nodded.

"Fudge is using what power he does have, including his influence over the _Daily Prophet_, to smear anyone who claims that Voldemort has come back," Aurora explained. "Since Anna is telling the same story as you, they've seen fit to drag me into it. Oh, I believe they've called me '_an unfit, lying, brainwashing, floozy of a mother_.' And of course they have said that since Annie had no real father figure for much of her childhood, she's seeking out attention."

Annalisa made a disgruntled scoffing sound and rolled her eyes.

"But you're not a bad mother," Harry insisted and Aurora smiled. "And you're not seeking attention," Harry said to Annalisa, who tried to smile but it was bitter and weak.

"Thank you, Harry. But until we can prove that Voldemort is really back, they'll continue their smear campaign," Aurora replied.

"But why?" Harry asked, looking around the table.

"Fudge believes that Dumbledore is after his job," Remus explained.

"But that's completely untrue! No one in their right mind would think that Dumbledore would want that job!" Harry opposed.

"And that's exactly it. Cornelius isn't in his right mind," Remus said and Aurora huffed.

"Hasn't been for a while; Fudge has been skittish about Dumbledore and Dumbledore's popularity since Fudge was appointed the new Minister," Aurora added and Sirius smiled.

"Exactly. His mind has been embittered and warped by his fear that Dumbledore is after his job and that Voldemort really is back. And fear makes people do some terrible things," Remus went on.

"The last time Voldemort was in power, it was devastating. Not a single person in the magical community came out of the first war unscathed. Hundreds died. I remember burying three families all at once. It was really terrible," Aurora explained and many of the adults nodded their heads gravely.

"I was barely nine years old when my uncles were killed," Bill added and Arthur grimaced, looking cautiously at the dining room door, where Molly was just beyond.

"I watched the Muggle news but nothing unexplained was going on lately. No deaths or anything…" Harry changed the subject.

"As far as we know, no deaths have occurred yet," Aurora answered and Harry sucked up the information. He was like a sponge and the information was his water. "We know quite a bit about what's going on with him and his Death Eaters and other followers."

"More than he'll ever think we do," Remus added.

"Why has he stopped killing people?" Harry asked.

"He wouldn't want the media attention just yet. It's too dangerous for him right now and a big reason for that is you two," Aurora replied.

"Us?" Annalisa asked curiously.

Aurora nodded.

"Neither of you were supposed to survive that night but you both did. No one besides his Death Eaters were supposed to know that he came back, not even his other followers that aren't Death Eaters. And to add insult to injury, you told the very person he's afraid of that he had returned…" Sirius explained.

"Dumbledore," Annalisa said in understanding and the adults nodded.

"But how has that helped anything?" Harry asked next.

"Are you serious?" Bill asked him and Sirius grinned.

"No, I'm Sirius," he said and Aurora rolled her eyes, gently slapping his knee.

Remus continued. "Dumbledore was able to get the Order back together about an hour after you told him that Voldemort had returned."

"So what have you all been doing then?" Harry asked and looked around at them all.

"Working our arses off to make sure Voldemort isn't able to carry out his plans," Sirius explained.

"But how do you know about his plans?" Annalisa asked.

"Dumbledore has a very good idea of what Voldemort's plans are and usually his ideas are very precise," Shacklebolt explained in his deep, gruff voice.

"So what do you think Voldemort's planning, then?" Harry asked, looking around.

"Well, obviously he wants to build up his army again. When we first started the Order, Voldemort had large quantities of magical folk on his side," Moody answered this time.

"Witches and wizards he either bullied or bewitched into service and many magical creatures. Giants for example," Aurora added. The teens' eyes widened.

"So you're trying to prevent him from getting more people to help him?" Ron asked and the adults nodded.

"Ok, so how?" Hermione asked this time.

"We're trying our best to convince as many people as possible that he is indeed back from the 'dead', so-to-speak," Aurora replied.

"Yeah, but it's proving to be pretty tricky," Bill added.

"Why?" Harry asked.

"The Ministry," Tonks responded with a scowl.

"Oh," Harry's shoulders slumped forward.

"But why would Fudge think we were all lying?" Annalisa asked.

"Because accepting it would mean problems that the Ministry hasn't had to deal with for fourteen years. It's been relatively peaceful with Voldemort gone and Fudge wants to keep it that way. Ignorance is bliss," Arthur said.

"And that's a huge problem for us. While the Ministry and the _Daily Prophet_ are saying you're all liars and that Voldemort hasn't come back, it's hard for us to convince them otherwise. Many people believe what's been put out by the _Daily Prophet_," Remus began. "And being unaware makes people very susceptible to the Imperius Curse."

"But you're telling as many people as you can, right?" Harry asked eagerly hopeful.

All of the adults smiled humorlessly.

"Well, considering that everyone thinks I'm an escaped convict and I have a ten thousand galleon price on my head, I can scarcely saunter down the street and hand out pamphlets, can I?" Sirius said sarcastically.

"And I'm not a very popular dinner guest," Remus added with a sad smirk.

"And if Kingsley, Arthur, Bill, and I say anything, we'll all lose our jobs," Tonks spoke up. The teens were looking more and more distressed. "We need spies inside the Ministry to counter the spies on Voldemort's side. And Bill's really useful too because he's working with goblins and we'll need their help."

"But Mum, you can go out and tell people, right?" Annalisa asked hopefully and Aurora sighed.

"If I start to 'babble nonsense'," she quoted with her fingers, "parents would pull their kids out of school and we need the students there. They're safer at Hogwarts; especially those like you, Hermione. So I can't go 'spouting rubbish'," she again used her fingers to quote the _Daily Prophet_. Annalisa looked very worried.

"But how are the others going to know what's going on if none of you are putting the message out?" Harry asked miserably.

"Who said anything about not putting the word out?" Aurora asked.

"Why do you think Dumbledore is in so much trouble with the Ministry?" Sirius asked with a smirk.

"What are you getting at?" Harry asked back.

"They're trying to discredit him, make him sound like an old man completely off his rocker. Did you read the _Prophet_ last week?" Tonks asked.

"No, I haven't been able to," Harry answered truthfully.

"Wow…you really do live in a terrible Muggle home…"

"Nymphadora," Aurora said with a scolding tone. Tonks shot her a glare.

"I hate that…" she pouted and Aurora sighed.

"The _Prophet_ last week was saying that Dumbledore was voted out of the Chairmanship of the International Confederation of Wizards because he's so old that he's losing his grip. Reality is: he was voted out because he made a speech about Voldemort's return. They went on to denote him from Chief Warlock on the Wizengamot and now they're even talking about taking his Order of Merlin, First Class away," Aurora explained.

"But Dumbledore doesn't mind as long as they allow him to have his card in the chocolate frogs," Bill grinned and the teens chuckled softly.

"It's not a laughing matter. If he continues to disobey the Ministry, they'll lock him up. And that's definitely the very last thing we want. If he's locked up, You-Know-Who will have free reign," Arthur scowled.

"But if Voldemort's trying to rally his followers back together, won't that get the Ministry's attention?" Harry asked curiously.

"Voldemort was never one to go knocking on front doors, Harry," Sirius explained.

"No, Voldemort is very good at secrecy. Besides, gathering his followers is second on his list right now. He's after something much different. Something he can do very quietly too," Moody added.

"But what else would he want?" Annalisa asked.

"Something he can only retrieve by stealth," Sirius said.

"Like what?" Harry asked.

"Like a weapon…a weapon he didn't have the last time," Sirius went on and Aurora glanced nervously at him.

"But what's worse than _Avada Kedavra_?" Harry asked as Molly entered the room.

"That is enough now. They're just kids, Sirius. If you say much more and you might as well initiate them all into the Order," Molly snapped, cutting Sirius off. He clipped his mouth shut and glared at her.

"Good! Tell me then because I want to join! If Voldemort's putting together an army, then I want to fight!" Harry protested.

"Same here! I want to be a part of the Order! I know spells and hexes and jinxes--"

"Annalisa, essere tranquillo," Aurora interjected in Italian.

"Ma Mom, che desidero unirmi! Ciò non è giusta!" Annalisa argued back in Italian. The others looked on in surprise, not understanding a word, except for Conri and Rupert who had also learned the language.

"Annalisa, ciò basta!" Aurora snapped and Annalisa crossed her arms and gave up. But Sirius looked at Molly and the other adults with justification. He winked at Harry and Annalisa, who smiled very slightly.

"That's enough for tonight…All of you, off to bed," Molly scolded.

"Sirius," Aurora whispered to him as he went to say something else and he sighed and looked defeated. He looked at Harry and Annalisa and nodded to them to leave. The kids left the room, grumbling and complaining about how close they were to hearing all of the juicy details. The adults settled down, no one looked at anyone else and a long silence stretched between them all. Eventually, Bill, Tonks, Moody, Remus, Kingsley, and Mungdungus all left for the night. Arthur and Molly went up to bed and then Sirius did. Aurora sighed heavily and rubbed her forehead as she felt a headache coming on.

"Spoilt brats...disrespectful whelps...horrible, ungrateful, uncivilized...bad eggs, the lot of them..."

Aurora craned her neck in the direction of the soft but gruff voice that was coming from the Black Family House Elf. She arched an eye brow and watched him silently as he wandered about the room, ignoring her. He kept mumbling insults aimed at everyone in the house as he went, searching for table scraps around the table and under the chairs. With a soft sigh, she stood and walked to the kitchen, going to the bread, cheese, and stew. She ladeled some stew into a small bowl and then she cut a few slices of cheese and tore off a chunk of bread. She put it all on a small plate and walked out to the dining room again. She stopped just in front of the swinging door, letting it rest against her back as she watched him eat crumbs and pieces of cheese off of the floor. She grimaced and frowned before she quietly went to him and placed the plate on the floor near him.

"Here you go, Kreacher. Stew, bread, and cheese. Enjoy," she said softly, kneeling down in front of him, her eyes watching him. He didn't turn to her, didn't even glance at her, but his big pointed ears flicked towards her at the sound of her voice. She stood then and straightened her clothing before walking out of the dining room. She closed the doors behind her and listened to him eat and continue to grumble about the current residents of the house. She smiled slightly and shook her head before she walked up the stairs and to Sirius' room. She opened the door and tip-toed in, patting Buckbeak's head when he raised it to look at her with his big sleepy eyes. She walked to the crib and smiled down at her sleeping babies. She changed while Sirius slept and crawled into bed, snuggling against her husband. Sirius groaned softly in his sleep and turns towards her, wrapping his arms about her waist to keep her close. She smiled and cuddled closer to him, falling asleep in his embrace within minutes.

* * *

"Annalisa, essere tranquillo." roughly means "Annalisa, be quiet."

"Ma Mom, che desidero unirmi! Ciò non è giusta!" roughly means "But Mom, I want to join! That is not fair!"

"Annalisa, ciò basta!" roughly means "Annalisa, that is enough!" I'm not sure how accurate it is; I used the translator on my Microsoft Word 2007.

Thanks to Moviegirl1616 for all of the alerts and the reviews! That helped make my day even better. I hope everyone likes this chapter. I would like more reviews please...I mean, the last chapter was up for over a week and didn't get any reviews until today. But...maybe you're all busy like I am so I won't dwell on it or get upset. I hope everyone is having a great September. Fall is here! Bring on the colors! And the holiday breaks XD I'll try to have the next chapter up sooner than 10 days. Ciao bellas! -Siriusgrl88


	7. Lullaby

Ok, here goes. Disclaimer: Annalisa Dairine Black, Aurora Clementine Badeau, Conri Carmine Black, Rupert Severus Badeau (Lupin-Snape), Aberto Adriano Badeau, Alicia Doireann Badeau (nee Riddle), Timothy Durante Badeau, Alfred Cillain Badeau, Holly Caoimhe Badeau, Nicola Sorcha Badeau, Italia Isla Badeau, Thekla Sophia Badeau (nee Metaxas), Maximus Eligio Badeau, Alexander Fidel Badeau, Massimo Cillian Badeau, Dolores Maria Badeau (nee DaSilva), anyone else mentioned in my fanfics that aren't in Jo's books are (C) me :)

Pippa Nicole Lupin-LaVigne (C) Ashley :)

Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Fred and George Weasley, and anyone else whom you recognize from the books are (C) Jo Rowling. I'm sorry that it's so short but she has a lot of characters and so do I so if I listed them all, it would take up about half a page.

Enjoy and review!

* * *

Aurora and Molly had recruited all of the teens for cleaning the house the day after Harry arrived. The whole day was dedicated to cleaning certain rooms of doxies, mold, and many other strange, magical things but by four o'clock in the afternoon, Molly and Aurora went down to the kitchen to begin dinner. When the dinner was nearly done, Molly went back upstairs to drag Fred, George, Conri, and Rupert to the kitchen to help set the table. Aurora knew that Molly was still very suspicious of her twin sons and what they were doing to get bloody noses and such messy rooms.

Dinners were always spent in the Dining Room and everyone in the house had to join the table to eat and socialize. Occasionally, they would have a guest or two join them. Most of the time it was Moody, Tonks, and Kinglsey. The teens enjoyed dinners but dragged their feet when it came to cleaning. Aurora made them tudy while cleaning, calling out questions for them to answer and correcting them when needed.

On August 12th, Harry and Arthur left early for the Ministry so Harry could go to his hearing while the other teens were left to clean the house. The tension was high and everyone waited anxiously for Harry to return to the house. Aurora and Molly tried to keep all of them busy but it was difficult. Even Aurora had difficulties focusing and jumped at every creak from the house. When Harry returned, everyone gathered in the Dining Room to hear the results.

"I'm not expelled," he said simply and George, Fred, Ginny, Conri, and Rupert danced around in a circle, their arms linked as they sang merrily "He got off!" repeatedly.

Aurora and Molly both heaved sighs of relief simultaneously and hugged each other happily.

Annalisa hugged Harry and whispered in his ear, "I knew you'd get let off. Dumbledore would never let you get expelled."

Hermione hugged him next and then everyone else did.

"Well, I believe this calls for a special dinner, to congratulate Harry on being let off and for producing a full-fledged Patronus," Aurora beamed and she and Molly immediately went to the kitchen to start making a fabulous dinner. Harry was very happy that at least Aurora had commented on his corporeal Patronus.

* * *

The next couple of weeks were spent cleaning the Black house. The teens were made to help Molly, Aurora, Nymphadora, Aquila, Italia, Alicia, Moody, Arthur, Sirius, Remus, and Mundungus with all of the cleaning, though there were a few rooms that the adults had made 'off limits' to all of the kids. Near the end of August, Molly and Nymphadora went to Diagon Alley to get the school supplies for all of the kids while everyone stayed at the house to clean. That very day, Snape showed up to talk to the adults. Sirius, Remus, Arthur, Mundungus, Moody, Shacklebolt, Bill, Ashton, and Filibert joined him in the Dining Room while the women chased the teens up to their rooms before joining the men in the Dining Room.

But Aurora didn't immediately go downstairs to the meeting. Instead she excused herself and went to Sirius' room, where the babies and Buckbeak were. Buckbeak squawked at her softly when she walked in and then he relaxed against the wall near the door to the bedroom. She patted his head and smiled at him as he lazily closed his eyes and enjoyed the attention.

She left his side and went to the cribs, peering over the crib. She smiled down at her squirming 3 month old babies and reached down to gently tickle Faolan's tummy and let Maria suck on one of her fingers on her other hand. She watched them lovingly and softly began to sing to them to put them to sleep.

_"Laying alone with the history that made you  
Cold and uncertain inside  
Well careful now, deep breath  
The water's still rising  
But your silver linings inside" she finished just as softly as she had begun, her voice slowly fading as her two twins drifted off to sleep, clinging to each other._

_When you  
You feel like you're breaking down  
And ya, your body's just giving in  
And ya, you can't go on broken like this  
Any longer_

_Close your eyes  
Don't you cry  
Let the sorrow within you subside  
Don't despair  
Have no fear  
Give your way to me when you hear  
This lullaby_

_You say all seems so wrong with the life that you're living  
You're searching for some reason why  
You're so scared to trust  
You're feeling unworthy  
Aching for comfort tonight_

_When your heart's too sore to beat  
And ya, you fear it might never heal  
And ya, you feel not even beggers want you  
I do_

_Close your eyes  
Don't you cry  
Let the sorrow within you subside  
Don't despair  
Have no fear  
Give your way to me when you hear  
This lullaby_

_Close your eyes  
Don't you cry_

_Close your eyes  
Don't you cry  
Let the sorrow within you subside  
Don't despair  
Have no fear  
Give your way to me when you hear  
This lullaby_

_Don't you cry  
Let the darkness within you feel alive  
Don't despair  
Have no fear  
You'll find comfort in me like a child  
With this lullaby_

_This lullaby  
Don't you cry  
This lullaby  
Close your eyes…"_

As she placed her hands on the rim of the crib, she looked over to Buckbeak and almost laughed when she saw that he too had fallen fast asleep. Then she looked up and saw Harry standing in the doorway. She smiled and beckoned him to her.

"Come see the babies," she whispered to him as he stepped up to the crib. He looked down at the sleeping babies and smiled slightly.

Faolan was pale and his hair was just as dark as his parents'. Where Faolan was pale with dark hair, Maria was tan with blonde hair. When they were awake, Faolan's eyes were crystal blue in color and he was as quiet and observant as an owl; Maria on the other hand had grey eyes and was as happy and bouncy and curious as a puppy.

"They're adorable," Harry admitted softly.

Aurora smiled ever so slightly and gently kissed his temple and hugged him to her. "You're like a son to me, Harry," she whispered and looked down at him. He was almost as tall as her now and his hair was just as messy and bushy as his father's and his eyes were as green as ever. She ruffled his hair and her smile became bittersweet. "You've grown so tall since the last time I saw you. You look more and more like James every day. They're proud of you, I'm sure," she said to him and he smiled.

"That song that you just sang to the babies…What was that?"

Aurora smiled a bit sadly and looked back down at her smallest children.

"My mother used to sing it to my siblings and me whenever we had trouble sleeping or we were really upset. I used to sing it to Annalisa, Conri, and Rupert…Sometimes I still do…Annalisa hasn't been sleeping well since last year so I sing it to her some nights. I sang it to you once, when you were just a baby. You were colicky and fussy and Lily didn't know what to do. She was very overwhelmed and she was pretty much all alone at that time because your father had been sneaking out to help the Order. And since both of our mother's were...well, gone...I tried to help her as much as I could," Aurora explained.

"I couldn't go to their house so she would call me and I would read her books about infants and how to help them when they were colicky or sick. She and I would stay up all hours of the night just like we used to when we were in school. We had journals that we would right in and as soon as we wrote something, it would show up in the other journal for the other person to see and then they could respond. Anyway, she couldn't get any books but since I wasn't in hiding I was able to get some. Nothing was working so I thought about the lullaby and told her to put the phone near your head. So she did and I sang the song to you. You got quiet very quickly and she told me that you fell asleep. I taught it to her and she said that it was the only way you would fall asleep. Did you remember it?" she asked, glancing at him curiously.

"Yes," Harry answered truthfully and Aurora gently stroked his head. "I still hear her voice sometimes…when I'm asleep. Sometimes it's not what I want to hear but other times…she's talking to me or…singing that song to me."

"Lily and James had so much love for you, Harry. I'm just sorry that they're not physically here to see you grow up…" she comforted and he nodded sadly, his shoulders slouched forward slightly. "You act more and more like James as well," Aurora giggled softly, touching her lips gently with her finger tips. Harry looked up at her quizzically. "He used to do that…Whenever he'd get upset or depressed, his shoulders would slouch forward and he'd bow his head. You have a lot of James' mannerisms, I suppose…"

"Really?" he sounded proud.

"Yes…Like, you do have a knack for getting into trouble like he did. I know you don't try to but he didn't always try to either. And you're just as clever and loyal as he was…and just as brave. He'd stand up to anyone who threatened him or his friends or family. No one could say a bad word against his friends and get away with it," Aurora sighed softly and blinked in surprise as tears began to well up in her eyes. "Oh goodness, I'm so sorry, Harry. I just…I guess I just really miss them…" she explained quietly and he frowned but nodded.

"Did...Did they want any more kids? If they hadn't been...killed...would they have had any more?" Harry asked, looking up at Aurora with a look that pierced her heart.

She nodded slowly, looking nostalgic. "Yes...Lily told me that she wanted to give you two or three siblings. She grew up with two sisters and four cousins so she wanted a decent sized family. James wanted one too because he grew up as an only child and he was lonely before he started at Hogwarts. They wanted to wait till you were two before they had another baby..." she explained, her eyes searching his as she told him. The light in his eyes dimmed in remorse. She frowned and squeezed his shoulder gently. "They wanted you to be happy, Harry. I know that's hard right now but you can't always dwell on the negative things. Otherwise it'll drive you insane."

"I know. I just wish I had a brother or sister..." he admitted, looking back down at Faolan and Maria.

"But you do..."Aurora said and he looked at her in confusion, his dark brows furrowing.

"What?"

"Ron, Fred, George, Conri, and Rupert are your brothers and Ginny, Hermione, and Annalisa are your sisters."

"Oh...I suppose..."

"You don't see them that way?"

"No, I do...I just...never thought about it, I guess," he said slowly, smiling slightly as he thought about it.

Aurora smiled as well and patted him on his upper back. "Well, I better be getting downstairs and you better get upstairs," she said suddenly and quietly shooed Harry out of the room.

She watched him go upstairs and then she headed downstairs for the meeting. On her way down, she bumped into Pippa and her children, Henri Joel clutched in Pippa's arms. Aurora didn't say a word as she continued down and Pippa went up.

Pippa herded her daughters into the room that was being shared by Ginny, Hermione, and Annalisa, who all looked up at her a bit icily. Pippa tried to brush off the looks but couldn't help feeling a bit alienated.

"I was told to leave my children up here with you. Do you mind?" she asked as politely as she could and Annalisa just rolled her eyes and lay down on her back on her bed, closing her eyes as she listened to her CD player, which she got her mother to magically get to work without batteries. Ginny and Hermione shrugged and went back to their reading. Pippa sighed and led her girls to three empty beds in the room. "Well, stay here and behave yourselves, alright?" Pippa told her young daughters and they all nodded, looking around with wide, curious eyes. Pippa then approached Annalisa, who was still listening to her music, her feet moving in time with the beat and her eyes were closed as she hummed softly. Pippa waited a few seconds before she got irritated and plopped Henri down on Annalisa's stomach.

"Oomph!" Annalisa let out a puff of air and looked up at the smiling one year boy sitting happily on her stomach. She glanced up and towards the door but only glimpsed Pippa's back as she left the room. Annalisa grumbled but let the little boy settle against her and sleep as she listened to her music. 'No reason to punish him. He hasn't done anything wrong…' she thought as she relaxed.

"I see you've made your children hate me too," Pippa snapped irritably at Sirius and Aurora as she entered the Dining Room. Sirius looked confused and Aurora rolled her eyes.

"We didn't do anything of the sort, Pippa. If they don't like you, it's for their own reasons, not mine or Sirius'," Aurora replied dryly. Pippa glared at Aurora as her husband, Pierre, rubbed her back. Severus cleared his throat and everyone looked back at him.

"This isn't the place nor the time to argue," Severus said coolly. "Now, Dumbledore told me to remind you that none of this leaves this room. Harry must not know what is going on."

"Why is that again?" Bill asked. "I don't think Dumbledore ever elaborated on that issue…"

"Then you'll find out later," Severus all but snapped at Bill, who frowned.

"Oh for goodness sake, Severus, just tell them, will you?" Aurora pushed and Severus glared at her.

"If you know the reason, then you tell them," he taunted and Aurora sighed. He obviously didn't think she would go through with it. He was sorely mistaken.

"Fine. The reason why none of the children can know about what's going on in here is because Harry has some kind of connection with Voldemort. We're not sure what or how, we just know that there is one. Dumbledore believes that his connection with Voldemort causes Harry's scar to hurt and causes all of Harry's nightmares. Harry's not the only one who has some kind of connection to Voldemort. Annalisa has some kind of connection with him too. She can't feel what Voldemort feels, or see what he sees, or thinks what he thinks…she just has nightmares about things he's done to people recently. When he kills someone, she sees it but only in glimpses. It's a bit like my connection with him…"

"Wait…" Arthur looked confused.

"What?!" Moody growled, standing. "You've just now decided to tell us this?! Does Dumbledore know?! We've been giving information to the--"

Aurora put her hands up and interrupted Moody. "It's not a connection like Harry's, alright? Harry's connection with Voldemort is much stronger. Harry can feel what he feels, hear what he hears, sees what he sees, etc. My only connection with Voldemort is that I can see what he plans to do to certain people. Some never come to pass and others have. He has never known that I have this sort of connection with him so it's not a problem. You can ask Dumbledore if you'd like, Molly," Aurora snapped slightly as Molly opened her mouth to protest. "Let's just get on with this meeting, shall we?"

* * *

Yay for a timely update. Thanks to wickedwench1 and Moviegirl1616 for the reviews and Toad321 for the alert!

Aw a touching moment between Harry and Aurora. I felt that Harry should learn some things about his parents, things that I came up with lol The song is Lullaby by Emmy Rossum. It's beautiful and she can often lull me to sleep. I think Lily and James would have had more kiddies had they gotten the chance. And the journal thingy that Aurora was talking about is a kind of mix between Tom Riddle's diary and Sirius' and James' mirrors. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and sorry about the random song lol _**Please review**_. Thanks. -Siriusgrl88


	8. The Ministry at Hogwarts

Ok, here goes. Disclaimer: Annalisa Dairine Black, Aurora Clementine Badeau, Conri Carmine Black, Rupert Severus Badeau (Lupin-Snape), Aberto Adriano Badeau, Alicia Doireann Badeau (nee Riddle), Timothy Durante Badeau, Alfred Cillain Badeau, Holly Caoimhe Badeau, Nicola Sorcha Badeau, Italia Isla Badeau, Thekla Sophia Badeau (nee Metaxas), Maximus Eligio Badeau, Alexander Fidel Badeau, Massimo Cillian Badeau, Dolores Maria Badeau (nee DaSilva), anyone else mentioned in my fanfics that aren't in Jo's books are (C) me :)

Pippa Nicole Lupin-LaVigne (C) Ashley :)

Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Fred and George Weasley, and anyone else whom you recognize from the books are (C) Jo Rowling. I'm sorry that it's so short but she has a lot of characters and so do I so if I listed them all, it would take up about half a page.

Enjoy and review!

* * *

About a month later, on September 1st, Annalisa, Hermione, Harry, Ron, George, Fred, Conri, Rupert, and Ginny were walking towards Platform 9 ¾. With them was the Order, or rather most of it. Moody, Tonks, Remus, Arthur, Molly, Aurora, and Sirius, in his dog form, all accompanied the teenagers. Tonks and Moody took the lead, with Arthur and Molly with Hermione and their children, Aurora and Sirius with Harry and their children, and Remus took up the back. Sirius woofed happily up at his wife, who tried to suppress her smile. He hadn't been let out of that house for months so he was very excited to be out now. When Sirius gave a particularly loud bark, Moody shot him a glare.

"Are you barking mad? You're going to blow it, you silly mutt!" he scolded Sirius, who just trotted pass him. Conri and Rupert laughed, teasing Moody on his choice of words. Moody growled and grumbled about children.

They approached a room near the platform and Sirius and Aurora went inside with Harry and Annalisa. Rupert and Conri stayed with the Weasley's while Tonks and Moody kept watch outside of the room. Sirius transformed into his human form and sat down in a chair. Harry sat on his left and Annalisa sat on his right as Aurora stood in front of them.

"Sirius, shouldn't you have stayed at the house?" Aurora asked in a slightly reprimanding tone.

"I really wanted to see them off," Sirius defended and Annalisa and Harry grinned. Aurora sighed and nodded. "Besides, what's life without a little risk?"

"Safe," Aurora replied wryly. Sirius just smiled and turned back to his oldest daughter and his godson.

"We don't want you to get thrown back into Azkaban, though, Dad," Annalisa said softly and he reached out to gently stroke her cheek.

"Don't worry about me, love bug, alright?" He spoke as he gazed down at her affectionately. She nodded at him, smiling slightly. "I wanted to give this to you both…" he added as he pulled out a slightly crumpled picture from his coat pocket. "It's a photo of the original Order of the Phoenix," he explained. Then he pointed to a few people and told them what had happened to them. "That's Marlene McKinnon there…Probably would have been an aunt of yours, Annie. She and Alfred dated for years before he broke it off…Then two weeks after this photo was taken, she and her entire family were killed…Frank and Alice Longbottom…A terrible thing, what happened to them; worse than death, if you ask me."

"Neville's parents," Annalisa whispered sadly. She briefly looked up and over at her mother, who had her back facing them, her arms in front of her as she stood facing a wall. Annalisa frowned and then looked back down at the photo. She saw her parents, standing next to Harry's parents. Then she saw Remus and Peter standing behind Lily and James. She recognized Moody and a young Kingsley and young Molly and Arthur.

"It's been fourteen years now and still a day doesn't go by that I don't miss your parents terribly. James was like a brother to me and Lily was like a sister. Great people…great, great people…"

"Is there really going to be another war, Sirius?" Harry asked and Sirius sighed heavily.

"It feels like it did last time…tense, dreadfully tense…" Sirius said and Aurora cleared her throat slightly. "Anyway, I guess you're the new young ones now," Sirius added and then Moody was gently tapping his cane against the door.

"Time to go," Aurora said, her voice slightly choked. Annalisa and Harry stood as Sirius transformed back into his dog form. They left the room and headed towards Platform 9 ¾. When they reached it, Annalisa kneeled down to hug her father. He licked her cheek and she giggled before hurrying off after Hermione and Ginny. She looked back at Sirius and Aurora and waved to the both of them. Sirius wagged his tail and barked and Aurora just laughed and waved back. Just as Annalisa was turning around, she ran right into Lucius Malfoy.

"Oomph!" she stumbled back slightly and looked up at the blonde man who glared down at her icily.

"Do watch where you are walking," he sneered and Annalisa rolled her eyes.

"Whatever…" she muttered under her breath and went to walk pass him but he grabbed her arm.

"That's a nice dog you have there…I wonder, where did you get him?" he asked and Annalisa glanced back at her mother and father. Sirius was busy giving a good-bye lick to Harry but Aurora had spotted them. Annalisa gave her a discreet shake of her head so Aurora didn't leave Sirius' side. Annalisa glared back up at Lucius.

"I'd appreciate it very much if you would release my arm, Malfoy," she said coldly.

"Tsk tsk….such disrespect. I guess your mother really is an unfit mother; she can't even instill respect in her children," he scoffed and Annalisa made a move to strike him but suddenly, Harry, George, Fred, Conri, Rupert, and Ron were at her side, glaring Lucius down.

"Does there seem to be a problem here, Lucius?" Aurora asked as she stopped at Harry's side. Lucius glared at Aurora but released Annalisa's arm. George pulled her back against his chest and kept her there protectively. She stayed, glaring up at Lucius. Hermione and Ginny joined them soon after.

"I was just commenting on the new addition to your family," he said as he glanced briefly over at the dog that was Sirius.

"A stray we picked up from the pound. Conri's puppy was having problems adjusting to a house with no other dog so we got an older one to keep him in line. _Now_ is there a problem?" she asked again, her crystal blue eyes icy.

"No…" he said after a few seconds before he turned and left them. Aurora turned to the group of teens and smiled bitterly.

"Ignore him. Get on the train before it leaves," she said and they all nodded. They loaded onto the train but Ron and Hermione left Harry and Annalisa with Ginny, Conri, and Rupert because they had to go to the prefect's carriage.

"Come on, let's find a compartment before it's too late," Annalisa said as she led Harry, her brothers, and Ginny down the aisles of compartments. They finally found one with Neville in it. "Hullo, Neville," she greeted the boy happily and sat down in front of him. He smiled up at them all as Ginny sat on the other side of him.

"Hello! Did you all have a good summer?" Neville asked.

"It was alright," Harry lied and Annalisa glanced briefly at him before agreeing.

"I got this great plant for my birthday! Uncle Algie got it for me from Assyria," Neville explained as he indicated a cactus plant that was moving and had huge boils all over it. "It's called a _Mimbulus Mimbletonia_. It has a great defense mechanism. Here, hold Trevor," he explained and handed Harry his toad. Neville then prodded the cactus plant with his wand.

The plant gave a shake and then some of its boils busted open and green mucus shot out at them all. Annalisa ducked and covered her head with a book for Divination, squeaking in surprise. Conri and Rupert had squeezed their eyes shut and covered their mouths as they got a face full of the green goo. Ginny had covered her face with her arms just in time but her head was covered in it. Harry got the worse of it all. His hands were busy with Trevor still and his face was completely covered with it and it was also all over his clothes. Neville's shirt was dripping with it as he looked around at them all sheepishly.

"Sorry…" he said apologetically.

"Oh Harry…um…well, I guess I'll come back later…" Cho Chang said as she stood in the doorway of the compartment. Harry looked in the direction of her voice and wiped the gunk from his glasses to look at her correctly. If he hadn't had the green mucus on his face, Annalisa was sure that he was blushing darkly.

"I…oh….um…No, it won't--"

"I'll see you around, Harry," Cho said and she hurried away with her friends.

"Don't worry, it's easy to clean up," Ginny said and with a flick of her wand she said "_Scourgify_!" and the gook vanished. Annalisa smiled and they all relaxed. Not long afterward, Hermione and Ron found them and soon after that, they arrived at Hogwarts. As they got off of the train, Malfoy and his goons caught up with them. Annalisa clutched Cleo to her a bit tighter as the cat made a groan of dissatisfaction, a low growl rumbling in her little chest.

"I'm surprised the Ministry let you off, Potter! They must be disappointed…I'm sure they had a cell in Azkaban with your name on it ready for you. Enjoy it while you can, though, because I'm going to be _dogging_ your steps now that I'm a prefect," Malfoy boasted snobbishly.

What worried Annalisa was not his tone but the way he put emphasis on the word 'dogging'. 'His father said something about Dad…do they know? Or is it just coincidence?' she thought in a slight, unnoticeable panic. But Harry suddenly lost it.

"Shut up, Malfoy!" Harry yelled, lunging at him. Ron quickly grabbed Harry's arms and held him back.

"What did I tell you, boys? He's a complete nutter!" Malfoy said as he quickly stepped away from Harry, his friends at his side.

"Just stay away from me, you friggin ferret!" Harry jabbed and Malfoy glowered at him, all of them remembering the day last year when Barty Crouch Jr., as Moody, changed Draco into a white ferret and danced him around the school yard and down Crabbe's pants. The memory brought small smiles to Ron's and Annalisa's faces.

"Say it again, Potter," he snarled under his breath as he stepped closer to Harry.

Annalisa pushed Draco away angrily with one hand, Cleo hissing in her other. "Piss off, Draco," she hissed, her eyes glaring daggers at him. He scowled at her but he and his mates hurried off.

"It's only Malfoy, mate," Ron said to Harry. "It's just Malfoy…What did you expect from a low-life like him?"

"Let's just go, alright?" Annalisa said quickly, feeling the uneasiness coming off of Hermione and Ron in waves. Ginny, Conri, Rupert, Fred, and George had hurried off of the train before they did but they soon caught up with the larger group.

"Sis, we're going with George and Fred, ok?" Conri told his sister and she nodded. Ginny, Rupert, Fred, and George were all ready in the carriage as Conri was climbing in.

"Be gone with you," she teased as he loaded up into a carriage, which was being pulled by something that she only glimpsed. Her brow furrowed but the carriage leapt forward and moved away from her and the dark helped obscure her vision. She shrugged and smiled over at Neville when he joined them. Then she saw Harry move from the corner of her eye and she turned as he walked towards the carriage behind them. That's when she realized that she had indeed seen something pulling the other carriage. Her eyes widened as she slowly approached the animal, which looked like a cross between a giant bat and a horse with big pale grey eyes.

"What is it?" Harry whispered to her and she shrugged.

"I've never seen it before…" she whispered back.

"You guys, what is it?" Harry asked the others. Hermione, Ron, and Neville all turned around to see what Harry was talking about.

"What's what?" Ron asked and Harry pointed at the creature.

"That thing that's pulling the carriage," Harry explained but Ron blinked and looked over at Hermione, who shrugged.

"Harry, nothing is pulling the carriage…it's pulling itself as always," Hermione said.

"No, no it's not…" Annalisa spoke up and Hermione looked at Annalisa in surprise. Annalisa stared up at the creature and reached out gently. It gently breathed into her hand and nipped at her palm. She gasped softly and jerked her hand away. "It's like a mix between a horse and…something dead with wings…" she explained but Hermione and Ron just stared at her. She turned around to face them. "Don't you see it?" she asked and both teens shook their heads.

Annalisa looked over at Neville, who kept glancing nervously at the creature. 'He sees it too but he's too scared to admit it…' she frowned and shook her head. "Nevermind…Let's just go," she gave up and went around the animal and the carriage to climb into the back of it. "Oh…hello, Luna," she greeted the younger blonde Ravenclaw girl that was already sitting in the carriage, an upside down _Quibbler_ in her hands. She hummed in greeting and Annalisa scooted all the way over to give Harry and Hermione room. They all sat down and Neville and Ron sat next to Luna.

"You're not going insane," Luna said dreamily to Harry and Annalisa. She gazed at them from over her magazine. "I can see it too. You're both as sane as me."

"Who are you?" Ron asked.

"She's Loony Love--" Hermione stopped herself, her wide eyes shifting to Annalisa, who stifled her giggle and gave Hermione a surprised look. "_Luna_ Lovegood…" Hermione corrected herself and Annalisa glanced down at her own shoes, biting her tongue. There was a slightly tense pause and then Hermione spoke again. "Interesting necklaces, Luna."

"Why thank you…This one's got Butterbeer corks on it…and this one is a charm, really. Keeps the Nargles away," she explained and Ron made a strange face. "I'm hungry…I do hope there's pudding when we get there."

The horse-like creature began to walk, their carriage rocking forward as it did so. Ron leaned towards Hermione. "What's a Nargle?" he whispered and Hermione shrugged, giving Luna a strange glance.

"I have absolutely no idea," she whispered back and Ron leaned back away from her.

* * *

The sorting was slow as usual but everyone delighted in singing along with the hat for the Hogwarts school song. Then the feast began and Annalisa ate more than she thought she could. She had noticed that throughout the feast, Seamus, Dean, Lavender, and some other Gryffindors kept their distance from her and Harry. She found it odd but blew it off as she talked with Hermione, Ginny, Jasmine, and Parvati. George sat next to her, scheming with his twin and Rupert sat on her other side, between her and Ron. Harry sat in front of Ron with Hermione beside him in front of Annalisa. As the feast drew to a close, Dumbledore stood and spoke.

"Good evening, everyone! I would like to announce two changes to the staff to you all. We're very happy to welcome back Professor Grubbly-Plank, who'll be taking over the Care of Magical Creatures position this year because our dear friend, Hagrid, is on a leave-of-absence at the moment," he explained.

Ron, Hermione, Harry, and Annalisa all looked at each other in shock. "What?" Ron asked.

"Why? Where's he gone?" Harry asked Annalisa. She just shrugged, not knowing the answer at all.

"We would also like to welcome a new addition to our staff this year…Your new Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor, Professor Dolores Umbridge," Dumbledore went on and the entire student body watched the staff at the staff table as they weakly applauded her. "I'm sure you will all wish her luck."

Annalisa made a throaty disapproving noise which George, Fred, and her friends all giggled at.

"She's that one woman from my hearing, the one who interrupted Dumbledore when he was talking," Harry explained to his friends and they all nodded.

"As usual, Mr. Filch, our caretaker, wants me to remind you--" As he was speaking, Umbridge cleared her throat in a very girly way, which made Annalisa gag slightly. Umbridge stood and Annalisa blanched as she saw her entire outfit. It was completely pink, with matching shoes and hat. Umbridge walked around the table and to the center of the platform as she spoke.

"Thank you so much, Headmaster Dumbledore, for those very considerate words of greeting," she then looked out at the students. "How lovely to see all of your dazzling, joyful faces beaming up at me."

As Annalisa glanced around and noticed that no one was smiling.

"I'm positive that we're all going to be close friends after this year," Umbridge went on.

"That's likely," Fred and George chorused quietly, making their table grin.

"The Ministry has always considered the education of young witches and wizards like yourselves to be of the greatest importance. Even though each headmaster has brought something innovative to this very celebrated school, progress for the sake of progress must be discouraged. Let's preserve that which must be preserved, perfect what needs to be perfected, and cut practices that should be banned," she finished with a short, girlish giggled and then slowly walked back to her seat. During her spiel, Trelawney continued to eat, Aurora looked highly annoyed and bored, and the other teachers rolled their eyes.

Dumbledore clapped for her but it took a while for the rest of the room the catch on. "Thank you, Professor, for that illuminating speech," he said and she nodded gratefully.

"Illuminating? What a load of waffle…" Ron whispered.

"What's she mean by all that?" Harry asked.

"What it means is that the Ministry of Magic is interfering at Hogwarts," Annalisa and Hermione said together.

* * *

Well, here's another chapter sooner than they have been lately. No reviews for the last chapter. _**Please review for this one**_. Thanks. -Siriusgrl88


	9. Quills

Ok, here goes. Disclaimer: Annalisa Dairine Black, Aurora Clementine Badeau, Conri Carmine Black, Rupert Severus Badeau (Lupin-Snape), Aberto Adriano Badeau, Alicia Doireann Badeau (nee Riddle), Timothy Durante Badeau, Alfred Cillain Badeau, Holly Caoimhe Badeau, Nicola Sorcha Badeau, Italia Isla Badeau, Thekla Sophia Badeau (nee Metaxas), Maximus Eligio Badeau, Alexander Fidel Badeau, Massimo Cillian Badeau, Dolores Maria Badeau (nee DaSilva), anyone else mentioned in my fanfics that aren't in Jo's books are (C) me :)

Pippa Nicole Lupin-LaVigne (C) Ashley :)

Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Fred and George Weasley, and anyone else whom you recognize from the books are (C) Jo Rowling. I'm sorry that it's so short but she has a lot of characters and so do I so if I listed them all, it would take up about half a page.

Enjoy and review!

* * *

As Harry walked into the Gryffindor common room after the feast, people began to hush up and everyone stared at him. Annalisa looked up from her book and she and Hermione exchanged looks as Harry glanced down at the _Daily Prophet_ that Seamus was reading.

"Hey, Dean. Hey, Seamus. Good holiday, I hope?"

"Mine was alright…better than Seamus' anyway," Dean admitted.

"Me mam thought about keeping me at home this year," Seamus said after he threw down his _Daily Prophet_. Annalisa got up quickly but slowly made her way towards Harry, Hermione following her.

"Why is that?" Harry asked.

"Hmmm…let me see…Because of you…and her," he sent Annalisa a nasty glare as she stepped up to Harry's side. Everyone looked at her as well. She clenched her jaw, looking stubborn. "The _Daily Prophet_ has been saying that you two and Dumbledore are liars."

"And your mum believes them?" Harry asked.

"Well, since no one else was there the night Cedric died…"

"Then I guess you should read that damn _Daily Prophet_ then, like your stupid mother does," Harry growled and everyone was a bit taken by surprise by his temper. "It'll tell you everything that you need to know."

"Don't you dare talk about me mam like that!"

"I'll have a go at whoever calls me a liar," Harry defended.

"What's going on in here?" Ron asked as he walked into the room and over to Harry.

"He's a nutter, is what's going on!" Seamus said angrily. "Do you believe what rubbish the two of them are spouting?"

"Yeah, I do," Ron said, standing between Seamus and Harry. "Does anyone else have a problem with Harry and Annalisa? Speak up now or let it go." The room was quiet and then Harry and Ron left, heading up to their dormitories. As soon as they were gone, Annalisa stepped forward and Hermione grabbed her arm but she yanked it out of Hermione's grasp.

"The only reason why your mother didn't want you to come back this year is because she's a complete idiot who believes that load of bull!" Annalisa hissed. Seamus stood his ground, glaring at her angrily.

"Don't talk about me mam, Black," Seamus ground out and Annalisa lifted her chin slightly.

"I'll say whatever I want about her because she seems to have no problem calling my friends, my family, and me a bunch of liars and whatever else pops into her brainless head."

"Back off, Black!"

"No! You back off, Finnigan! Leave Harry alone from now on, alright?"

"You're not going to tell me what to do!"

"Well, I just did," she turned to walk away when he said something else.

"At least me mam's not a complete whore like yours and me dad isn't an escaped murderer!" Annalisa felt rage bubble up in her chest just as Ron walked down the steps from the dormitories and everyone in the room gasped in surprise at Seamus' derogatory term.

Annalisa whirled on Seamus and slapped him hard on his face so fast that he didn't have time to even blink. His head snapped to the side and he staggered back a bit before turning back to her, angry. They both pulled their fists back, ready to punch each other when Ron and Hermione grabbed Annalisa to hold her back. Dean and Lee Jordan both grabbed Seamus as he spat at Annalisa's feet and tried to lunge at her. The entire room was holding its breath as everyone watched. It was quiet and tense, thick with anger. Annalisa and Seamus were panting for breath, glaring at each other.

"I hope my mother flunks you, Finnigan!" Annalisa snarled and Seamus' eyes narrowed even more. "You weren't there that night! You have no idea what Harry and I saw! And you have no proof that it _didn't _happen! Get off me!" she tugged herself away from Ron and Hermione but didn't advance on Seamus. "Piss off, Finnigan," she spat before whirling on her heel and storming off to her own dormitory. Hermione hesitated before she followed. Annalisa slammed the door behind her and then Hermione reopened it and closed it quietly behind her.

"Are you alright?"

"Am I alright!? Did you hear what he said about my mother and father?!"

"To be honest and fair, you said some mean things about his mother. It was his instinct to go at you like that…"

"All I said was that she was an idiot, Hermione! Not a whore!"

"Granted, but you still said rude things about her to him. Please, don't get angry with me…" Hermione pleaded, her eyes begging. Annalisa huffed and scowled before she sat on her bed and then laid out on it.

"I'm sorry, 'Mione…I'm just…well, angry at him. I won't apologize. He believes that crock-and-bull!"

"I know…" Hermione agreed and sat down next to her with a sigh. "What are we going to do about Harry?"

Annalisa thought about it for a bit, chewing on her lower lip. Then, she answered. "I don't know…"

* * *

The next day, classes began and Annalisa didn't want to be anywhere near Seamus Finnigan. Lucky for her, he didn't want to be around her either. As they all filed into the DADA room, Annalisa sat down with Hermione at a desk while Harry and Ron sat at a desk near them. Everyone began to chat and laugh as they waited for the class to begin. Parvati enchanted a paper origami bird to fly around the room and just as it was flying over her, after a sweep of the room, it burst into flame and dropped lightly down in front of her on her desk. Everyone quieted down and looked at it.

"Good morning!" they all looked back at Umbridge as she walked up the aisle towards the front of the room. "Ordinary Wizarding Level exams…Better known as OWLs. Study hard and you will be rewarded," she said as she came to a stop at the front of the room. "But fall short of doing so and the penalty will be severe." She enchanted some old looking books and they floated about the room, landing on desk in front of students. Annalisa glanced down at hers and almost laughed at the design of it. It had a young cartoon wizard and a young cartoon witch on the front, both dressed in black robes and black pointed hats. The same book was in their hands and about six black cats surrounded them. It read _Dark Arts Defence: Basics for Beginners_ by Faith-Ann Tumbleson.

"You're prior instructions in this particular subject have been alarmingly patchy," Umbridge went on. "But you'll be very satisfied to know that from now on you will be following a carefully instructed, Ministry-approved course of Defense Against the Dark Arts. Does anyone have a question?" Hermione raised her hand. "Yes, Miss Granger?"

"There's nothing here about how to use a defensive spell," Hermione said simply.

"Using spells? Why would you need to use spells to defend yourself?" Umbridge asked rhetorically, a girlish laugh coloring her tone and a girly smirk was on her toad-like face.

"So…we're not going to use magic in this class then?" Ron asked.

"You'll be learning about defensive spells in a sheltered, safe way," Umbridge answered.

Annalisa gave Hermione a look and Hermione shrugged.

"But what use is that if we're attacked?" Harry asked and Annalisa looked over at him and tried to signal for him to stop while he was ahead.

"A student will raise his or her hand before they speak in my class," Umbridge said in an authoritative tone. Harry didn't raise his hand and he didn't continue. She smiled at the class again. "It's the Ministry's view that learning theoretically will be sufficient enough to get you through your OWLs."

"But how's theory going to help us for what's out there, in the real world?" Harry asked.

"There is nothing out there, Mr. Potter. Who do you believe would want to attack a bunch of school children?"

"Oh um…I don't know…Maybe Voldemort," Harry said and as soon as the name reached everyone's ears, there was a collected gasp throughout the classroom. Annalisa groaned slightly and rested her forehead against her new book. Umbridge looked around the room, her plastered smile twitching.

"Let me make this very clear…You've all been told that a certain dark wizard has come back from the dead. But that is impossible…It is a lie…"

"It is not a lie! Annalisa and I saw him! I fought him!" Harry protested and looked to Annalisa for confirmation. Umbridge turned to Annalisa as well. Annalisa's mouth moved but no words came out.

"Detention, Mr. Potter!" Umbridge snapped as she looked back at Harry.

"No, wait! He didn't mean to argue with you…I mean, he did but he didn't want to offend you, Professor!" Annalisa tried to recover for him. Umbridge turned to Annalisa now and approached her desk slowly, her heels clipping against the stone floor and it was like Death on heels for Annalisa.

"Do you agree with Mr. Potter, Miss Black?" she asked quietly and was deceivingly sweet.

Annalisa stared up at her for a moment. Umbridge had her hands clasped together in front of her, her chest puffed out slightly as she looked down her nose at Annalisa. Umbridge was trying to intimidate her but it only served to make a serious feeling of rebelliousness and defiance unfurl inside of her. Annalisa set her chin stubbornly and looked Umbridge straight in her beady eyes.

"Yes, I do," she answered. "Voldemort _is_ back and he _did_ kill Cedric Diggory. It happened…whether you and the Minister and whoever else wants to believe it or not."

Umbridge's smile faltered slightly. "Detention for you as well, Miss Black."

"Fine."

"So according to you and the Minister, Cedric Diggory just dropped dead on his own accord then?" Harry angrily protested again.

"Cedric Diggory's death was a terrible accident."

"It was murder! Voldemort killed Cedric!" Annalisa argued.

"ENOUGH!" Umbridge's girly façade deteriorated but reappeared within seconds. "Enough; the both of you. You will both see me in my office at six o'clock tonight."

Annalisa and Harry both frowned and glanced at each other briefly. The class resumed but the vibe was thick with tension as the students listened and Umbridge rambled on about absolute nonsense.

* * *

Later on, around five fifty that night, Harry and Annalisa solemnly walked to Umbridge's office. They knocked on the door together and waited for a few seconds.

"Come in," the girly voice said from the other side of the door. Harry twisted the knob and the two walked into the room, closing the door behind them.

They walked into a completely pink room that had pink furniture and pink drapes and pink rugs. The walls were pink and they were covered with small, animated plates with painted kittens on them. The kittens mewed cutely and purred in content as Harry and Annalisa proceeded deeper into the room. Annalisa didn't have anything against cats, considering she had one of her own and grew up with her mother's cat, but this room could make anyone sick.

"Please sit. Now…you'll both be doing lines for me this evening," she said sweetly but when they both reached for their bags to retrieve quills and ink, she waved her hand. "No, no, no, not with your quills. I have some very special quills that I'd like you to use instead…" she stood and placed a quill in front of Harry on his desk and a quill in front of Annalisa on her desk. Harry and Annalisa were facing each other where they sat and Annalisa glanced briefly at him before really examining the quill given to her. "Now, I would like you to write: 'I must not tell lies'."

"How many times?" Harry asked in a slightly peeved tone.

"Let's say as many as it takes for the lesson to sink in, shall we?" As she turned to look at her kittens on the wall, Annalisa spoke up.

"We have no ink, Professor," she said politely, even though it killed her to do so.

"There's no need for ink with these quills," Umbridge explained and Annalisa's brow furrowed. She and Harry exchanged looks before they set about their task. But as Annalisa wrote, she felt an odd stinging on her left hand. She looked over at it after hissing in pain and realized that with each stroke she made on the paper, her skin on the back of her hand was being torn into by something invisible. She had finished the first sentence and on the back of her hand it clearly read 'I must not tell lies'. She and Harry looked up at one another at the same time and she realized that he too had a very similar quill.

"Is there a problem?" Umbridge asked them as she looked from Harry to Annalisa. Harry looked up at her a bit warily and Annalisa stared at her in slight shock.

"No, nothing's wrong," Harry answered, his eyes on Annalisa's.

"Yes, that's right, Mr. Potter…Because you both know that you deserve to be punished, don't you?" she said and Annalisa looked back down at the back of her bleeding hand. "Go on now…Finish up…"

* * *

Another chapter, another update. Woo...Can't say I'm really estactic to be updating. I only got one review for the last chapter (Thanks Maria). So would any of you mind reading AND reviewing? I'd appreciate it. A little more than "I like it" or "Great chapter" would be nice too. Enjoy the chapter. -Siriusgrl88


	10. Interrogation

Ok, here goes. Disclaimer: Annalisa Dairine Black, Aurora Clementine Badeau, Conri Carmine Black, Rupert Severus Badeau (Lupin-Snape), Aberto Adriano Badeau, Alicia Doireann Badeau (nee Riddle), Timothy Durante Badeau, Alfred Cillain Badeau, Holly Caoimhe Badeau, Nicola Sorcha Badeau, Italia Isla Badeau, Thekla Sophia Badeau (nee Metaxas), Maximus Eligio Badeau, Alexander Fidel Badeau, Massimo Cillian Badeau, Dolores Maria Badeau (nee DaSilva), anyone else mentioned in my fanfics that aren't in Jo's books are (C) me :)

Pippa Nicole Lupin-LaVigne (C) Ashley :)

Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Fred and George Weasley, and anyone else whom you recognize from the books are (C) Jo Rowling. I'm sorry that it's so short but she has a lot of characters and so do I so if I listed them all, it would take up about half a page.

Enjoy and review!

* * *

Annalisa and Harry sat on the sofa down in the common room while Fred and George went about and tested their Weasley Wizard Wheezes out on their specimens. Annalisa shook her head and went back to reading her book when Hermione and Ron joined them.

"Come on, 'Mione. It's not like I'm asking you to write the whole thing for me," Ron pleaded.

"Oh please," Hermione huffed.

"I've just been so busy with studying for these stupid OWLs…"

Hermione sighed and conceded as she sat down. "I'll do your introduction but that's it."

"Oh 'Mione, you're sincerely the most amazing person I have ever had the pleasure of meeting," Ron complimented a bit too heavily. "If I am ever boorish to you again…"

"I'll know you've gone back to being Ronald," Hermione finished for him and they both chuckled.

"Oi, what about me, Ickle Ronniekins?" Annalisa teased and Ron placed her in a headlock and gave her a noogie. "Hey! Let me go, you great toad!" When he let her go, she slapped his arm, glaring at him. "Remind me to never be nice to you ever again…Or better yet, I'll have your brothers remind me…"

Ron made a face at her and she grinned and went back to her book. As Hermione watched Harry flip through a Quidditch magazine, she noticed his still healing hand. "What in the devil is wrong with your hand?" she asked as she looked at it.

Harry brought his right hand out and placed it over the magazine. "Nothing."

"No, you're other hand…" Hermione argued as she grabbed his left hand and pulled it up to look at it. "Oh Harry…You've got to tell Dumbledore about this! This dreadful woman should be thrown out now…"

"No, I don't have to tell him anything," Harry protested. "He's got enough on his plate right now as it is. Plus, I don't want to give that 'dreadful' woman the satisfaction."

"Yeah, Hermione, just let it go," Annalisa added, hiding her own left hand.

"Wait a minute…" Hermione said, remembering that Annalisa had been having detentions with Umbridge as well. Ron grabbed Annalisa's left hand, though he struggled a bit with her first.

"Her too, 'Mione," he said when he saw Annalisa scabbed hand and Hermione looked at Annalisa sadly.

"The woman's torturing the both of you…You have to do something," Ron insisted but Annalisa pulled her hand from his grasp.

"Don't tell George, alright?" Annalisa whispered to them and Ron frowned. "Please Ron?"

"Whatever…" he grumbled and Annalisa hid her left hand again.

"Besides, we're healing," Annalisa added and Harry nodded.

"But if the parents knew about any of this…"

"Well, I haven't got any parents, now do I, Ron?" Harry asked angrily and the four became quiet.

"You both need to report this or she'll do it to other students," Hermione finally spoke after a few moments of quiet except for the background noises from the other students. "It's clean and simple---"

"No, it's not simple at all, Hermione," Harry said in annoyance. "Whatever this all is, it's definitely not simple…" he argued and looked at her. Hermione gave him a bit of a blank look and Harry looked as if he gave up. "You don't understand," he said after a brief pause and then he closed his magazine and packed up his books.

"Then help us to understand it, Harry," she said but he shook his head and left them, taking his things with him. Hermione looked at Ron, who looked away, upset obviously. Hermione then looked over at Annalisa, who gave her 'I'm sorry but I don't know what to do either' look. Hermione looked into the fire and Annalisa looked back at her book, though she didn't read.

* * *

The next day, before breakfast, when everyone was heading down for to the Great Hall, Harry grabbed Annalisa's arm and yanked her aside to speak with her. She motioned for Hermione and the others to go on ahead and she looked back at Harry. "What?"

"I know why we can see those creatures pulling the carriages and why Ron and Hermione can't," he whispered and Annalisa immediately became interested.

"Why then?"

"They're called Thestrals and the only time anyone can see them is if that person has seen someone die…You and I saw Cedric die, but Ron and Hermione haven't seen anyone die. That's why we can see the Thestrals," he explained and Annalisa nodded, looking relieved.

"But how can Luna see them? And Neville?"

"She saw her mother die," he said sadly and Annalisa frowned. "As for Neville, I don't have a clue."

"Well, let's get down to the Great Hall, shall we?" she said and they walked together to the Great Hall. He went ahead as she lingered in the hallway, having spotted McGonagall and Umbridge and they didn't look happy with one another.

"I beg your pardon, Professor McGonagall, but what are you implying?"

"I'm simply requesting that when it comes to the students of this school you obey to the prearranged disciplinary rules," McGonagall said as they both stopped midway up the stairs. Annalisa and a growing group of students formed near the bottom of the staircase to watch the exchange, having been attracted by the loud voices of the two older women.

"So silly of me but it does sound like you're questioning my authority in my very own classroom, _Minerva_," Umbridge said as she took a step up to make herself taller than McGonagall, who naturally towered over the short, toad-like woman.

"No, not at all, _Dolores_, just your medieval methods," McGonagall she said as she took a step up as well to tower once again over Umbridge. Aurora walked into the hallway and stopped at her daughter's and sons' sides, staring up at the older women quizzically.

"I am so sorry, Minerva, but to inquire about my practices is to inquire about the Ministry's practices and, by extension, the Minister's practices. I am a very tolerant woman, Minerva, but one thing I cannot and will not tolerate is disloyalty."

"Disloyalty?" Minerva said as she took a step down from Umbridge.

"Things here at Hogwarts are far worse than I had imagined. Cornelius will want to act at once," Umbridge said to the students and the professors that had gathered outside of the Great Hall.

"What 'medieval methods' was Minerva talking about?" Aurora asked Severus as he stopped at her side but he merely shrugged. Aurora noticed that Annalisa gently touched the back of her left hand before hastily hiding it. "Annalisa, what's wrong with your hand?"

Annalisa looked up at her mother in surprise before answering quickly. "Nothing."

Aurora frowned and reached for Annalisa's left hand, pushing her sleeve back. Annalisa watched her mother's face tentatively. Aurora's face remained passive but her eyes flashed with rage and intolerance. Aurora then went to Harry and looked at the back of his left hand. Before Annalisa knew it, her mother was climbing the stairs towards Umbridge, who blinked at her curiously.

"How dare you?" Aurora hissed under her breath and she reached for her wand but both Severus and Minerva stopped her. "Get off of me! As a parent, I can't tolerate your malignance towards my children. If you do anything else to any of my children or their friends, you will regret it, do you understand, Dolores?"

"I understand that you're threatening me, Aurora…"

"Oh no…it's not a threat…it's a promise," and with that Aurora shoved pass Dolores and stormed off to her room, leaving everyone very surprised.

* * *

The next day, _Proclamation Number 23_ was released, claiming that Dolores was High Inquisitor at Hogwarts. Over the next few weeks, she went from classroom to classroom, interrogating teachers as they worked, embarrassing all in front of their students.

Snape's class was particularly rememberable. As he patrolled the classroom after he had given the students their assignment, Dolores followed with her quill and clipboard in hand and she asked him reputation-damaging questions.

"When did you start this position?"

"1981."

"Why did you apply?"

"I needed a job and I'd rather teach than work in retail or at a newspaper."

"Do you believe you are a good teacher?"

"Yes." At Severus' answer, Ron snorted in disagreement. Annalisa and the other Gryffindors tried not to laugh. Snape glared at Ron briefly from across the room as he walked.

"Where are your students academically?"

"They are at the levels that they should be at."

"Did you not apply for the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?"

"Yes," was Severus' stiff reply.

"And you were denied that position?"

"Obviously…"

Ron sniggered, his face turned down towards his notebook. Annalisa covered her mouth with her hand, her writing hand scribbling notes down as Parvati pretended to choke on the steam from the cauldron she was stirring. The class was collectively holding in their laughter. Dolores smirked slightly as she scribbled something down on her clipboard and then she left the class, the clicking of her heels against the stone floor echoing in the dungeon. When she was out of sight and hearing, Severus, who had ended up behind Ron and Annalisa, grabbed Annalisa's notebook and swatted Ron upside the head with it. He then slammed it down on the table, briskly walking away to sit behind his desk. Ron glanced at Annalisa, who was biting her lower lip to try to keep from laughing. Ron's grin grew and he hid his face from Snape.

Snape wasn't the only teacher who disliked Umbridge's invasive questions. Aurora wasn't so pleased to have Umbridge interrupting her class and tried her best to be pleasant and polite though it was very difficult for her.

"So, I've heard that you're the youngest teacher at Hogwarts. Is that correct?" Dolores asked as she followed Aurora around the room as the students practiced hypnotism on each other.

"No, I'm one of the youngest teachers here…Severus is my age," Aurora answered as she scanned the room with her intense eyes.

"And how long have you been working here?"

"Oh…well, since 1984; so for about eleven years now," Aurora replied as she quickly fixed the way Ron was pointing his wand at Harry. "Ron, if you point your wand at Harry like that again, you're going to put him into a coma…" she whispered to Ron, who looked sheepish immediately. She walked away and Dolores followed, scribbling on her clipboard.

"Have you found it difficult to not play favorites with your children and their friends?"

"I don't do that kind of thing. I'm fair in grading and the treatment of all my students," Aurora answered honestly and Dolores scribbled something down.

"Have you found it difficult to balance motherhood, sisterhood, your career, and relationships?"

"Not at all. Having my children here with me makes motherhood easier and having had my sisters here with me made sisterhood easier as well. My friends are my colleagues but I do have friends outside of this school. All that helps me have a great career."

"Have you had children recently?"

"What?" Aurora asked as she faced Dolores, surprised by the question.

"Have you had children recently?" Dolores repeated.

"Does it look as if I've had any children recently?" Aurora asked, composing her exterior even though her heart was pounding and her blood racing. Dolores eyed her a bit enviously. Aurora had made sure that she quickly lost all of her baby fat so that she wouldn't cause people to be suspicious though her breasts remained large until the babies were weaned. She had hidden her pregnancy very well with long, flowing gowns and robes. She didn't get very big even though she carried twins this time. When Faolan and Maria were born, she was at Holly's house, not at St. Mungo's. Holly took care of them for a while until she went into Hiding with Nicola for her Secret Keeper. Then Nicola went into Hiding with Alicia for Secret Keeper and then Alicia went into Hiding with Italia as Secret Keeper. That left Italia with the babies.

"There were babies here, during the summer…" Dolores said slowly.

"Yes, there were…one of Italia's Muggle friends got into a car wreck and passed away. She left the two babies to Italia but Italia was busy with work this summer so I agreed to take them for a couple of months," Aurora lied easily. Dolores bought it.

"I do believe I heard that you're friends with a Remus John Lupin…a werewolf. Is that correct?"

"Yes, but what does he have to do with my teaching?"

"Nothing…" Dolores said as she scribbled something down, a small smirk on her face. Aurora turned again, her back facing Dolores. When she knew no one could see her, she made a face and mocked the way Dolores' face moved when she spoke.

"Are you encouraging your daughter and Mr. Potter to tell lies about the return of the Dark Lord?"

"Dolores, you're now asking questions that have nothing to do with my teaching methods, so I'm assuming that we're done here and you can leave now…"

"We'll be done when I say we're done, Aurora…Now, please answer the question."

Aurora had to bite her tongue for a few seconds to keep from snapping at Umbridge but eventually she regained her full composure and smiled slightly at Dolores. "No, I'm not. You know how teenagers can be. Rebellious attitudes, authoritative problems…at least most do. You tell them one thing and they'll do another…"

"Are you saying you can't control your children, Professor?"

"No, not at all. I've reprimanded her for what she did and she hasn't given you any problems lately, has she?"

Dolores gave her a slight smile and scribbled something down as Aurora walked around the classroom again. "Draco, hold your wand like this…There you go. Very good, Mr. Nott," she said as she went.

"I have to say, I don't care for this way of teaching, Aurora…"

"How would you like me to teach this, Dolores?"

"Theoretically; reading and writing but no performing," Dolores explained and Aurora arched an eye brow as she looked at Dolores.

"They do a lot of reading and writing in this class but there are some parts of this subject that you can't learn from a book, Dolores."

"Did you not tell Mr. Weasley that he might put his friend, Mr. Potter, in a coma if he didn't hold his wand right?"

"I did, but coma's can be reversed, as you should know," Aurora admitted.

"Well, yes they can be, but isn't that a complicated spell?"

"Yes, it is."

"And you know how to do that?"

"Yes, I do."

"Would you care to demonstrate?"

"On a student, no; on you…well, that's another story…" Aurora said with a sweet smile and Dolores' smile faltered a bit. She scribbled something down furiously on her clipboard before looking back at Aurora.

"Well, that's all then," Dolores forced a smile and turned on her pink high heel and marched out of the classroom, the clip-clap of her shoes echoing in the stone room. Aurora smirked behind her, thoroughly happy with herself.

* * *

As the days went by, Dolores Umbridge decided to take her aggressions out on not only the teachers but any student she felt needed it. Many times, she had straightened Ron, Harry, Seamus, and Dean's clothing. Girls and boys complained that she abruptly tidied their clothes up in the halls and made sure they weren't kissing their boyfriends/girlfriends. Annalisa and George found out firsthand what she did if she caught anyone kissing.

They had been sitting with friends and family, laughing and having a relatively good time in the courtyard to pass the time on a Sunday afternoon. Annalisa and George had been flirting and whispering to one another and then they kissed. They didn't snog at all; it was a simple peck on the lips. But as soon as their lips touched, they felt electricity shock them. They both yelped and pulled away from each other quickly, both gently touching their offended lips. They looked at each other in accusation but then they realized that it wasn't something either of them had done. They glanced over at Umbridge and glared as she walked away, a satisfied grin on her toad-like face.

Not long afterwards, George and Fred were playing with one of their creations in a courtyard. It was a fiery little ball that didn't hurt anyone or set anything on fire. It was a bit like a hacky-sack, a Muggle ball of clothe that was filled with small, clear plastic beans. George and Fred passed the fiery little ball to one another, doing simple little tricks and maneuvers to make their growing crowd "oo" and "aw". Annalisa, Ron, Hermione, Harry, Conri, Rupert, Ginny, Neville, and Luna were all a part of the crowd. Fred threw it into the air for George to catch and just as it was about to fall into George's hands, the little fiery ball zipped out of reach and disappeared into Dolores' wand. The teens groaned and the crowd dispersed as Umbridge walked away smugly.

"I think we need to start planning, my dear brother," Fred said to George and George nodded.

"I completely agree," he said as Annalisa and the others stopped at Fred and George's sides.

They had all seen Umbridge's abrasive treatment of the teachers. She literally measured Professor Flitwick; interrogated Trelawney to tears; humiliated Severus in front of his class about how he didn't get the original post that he applied for; tried, and failed, to humiliate Aurora and Minerva in their classes; utterly confused Professor Binns; and made the rest of the staff completely nervous. And now she was taking it out on the students. Students complained to each other about it but no one planned to do anything about it.

* * *

The next day proved to be a reminder to the teachers that Dolores Umbridge meant serious business. Her victim was Professor Trelawney. The school gathered round as poor, whimpering, shaking Sibyll Trelawney was standing in the middle of the front courtyard, her oversized puke yellow purse clutched desperately in her hands. Filch was loading her luggage out into the courtyard next to her.

Annalisa watched, gripping George's hand in hers, her eyes sad as they all took in the shocking scene. Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Conri, and Rupert joined Fred, Annalisa, and George. Luna and Neville made their way to them as well and the group watched quietly. Soon it seemed that the whole school was there to watch the exchange. Harry approached them not much later as the professor sobbed slightly, stumbling about between her suitcases. Though many students didn't care for Trelawney's classes, they all saw this as a complete violation.

"What's going on?" Harry whispered.

Annalisa looked grieved when she answered. "Umbridge has sacked her," she whispered back. The teachers had gathered round as well now, watching hopelessly. Dolores suddenly walked out into the courtyard, looking pleased with herself. They all watched as Sibyll staggered towards her slightly, fumbling over a smaller suitcase.

"Si-Sixteen years…I've lived and taught here for sixteen years…" Sibyll cried softly. "This is my home…Hogwarts is my home! You can't do this…" she sounded as if she was being told she could no longer breathe air or drink water.

"Actually, I can and I have. I sent in my report about your teaching and the Minister agreed that you are not fit for this job," Dolores said without sympathy as she held up a leaflet. Aurora had had enough. She went to Sibyll and gently grasped her arm. Sibyll looked at her, fat tears rolling down her thin cheeks. Aurora looked at her sadly and then glared at Dolores.

"Aurora…" Sibyll sobbed and clung to her as Minerva joined them, wrapping an arm around Sibyll.

"Shhh, Sibyll, shhh…" Aurora soothed, stroking her head and shoulders as if Sibyll were a young child. She sent nasty glares at Dolores whenever she could as she soothed poor Sibyll.

"Would you like to say something to me, Minerva?" Dolores asked as Minerva looked at her incredulously.

"There are several things I would love to say to you, Dolores," Minerva said scathingly.

"And you, Aurora?" Dolores asked Aurora.

"Yes, there are…but I know better than to give into my satisfactions," she snapped and then comforted Sibyll. Suddenly, the doors leading into the school opened and Dumbledore hurried out, looking none-too-pleased.

"Professor McGonagall, please escort Sibyll back to her room," Dumbledore said and Minerva led Sibyll back towards the school.

"Dumbledore, I might remind you that under the conditions of Educational Decree Number 23, as approved by the Minister Cornelius Oswald Fudge himself---"

"You might have the right to dismiss my teachers, Dolores, but you do not have the right to banish them from their home. That power is solely for the headmaster of the school," Dumbledore interjected.

Dolores had a smirk growing on her face. "For now, that is," she said.

Aurora pointed her wand at Sibyll's suitcases and levitated them into the air. With them trailing behind her in the air, she marched back into the school, sending Dolores a scathing look as she passed the little witch dressed in pink. As Dumbledore followed Aurora, he called out to the students.

"Go study for your OWLs," he bellowed and the students immediately obeyed, scurrying off to their books. But Harry followed Dumbledore, calling after him and Aurora felt awful when Dumbledore never responded.

* * *

Enjoy this chapter. Please review. -Siriusgrl88


	11. Devious Planning

Ok, here goes. Disclaimer: Annalisa Dairine Black, Aurora Clementine Badeau, Conri Carmine Black, Rupert Severus Badeau (Lupin-Snape), Aberto Adriano Badeau, Alicia Doireann Badeau (nee Riddle), Timothy Durante Badeau, Alfred Cillain Badeau, Holly Caoimhe Badeau, Nicola Sorcha Badeau, Italia Isla Badeau, Thekla Sophia Badeau (nee Metaxas), Maximus Eligio Badeau, Alexander Fidel Badeau, Massimo Cillian Badeau, Dolores Maria Badeau (nee DaSilva), anyone else mentioned in my fanfics that aren't in Jo's books are (C) me :)

Pippa Nicole Lupin-LaVigne (C) Ashley :)

Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Fred and George Weasley, and anyone else whom you recognize from the books are (C) Jo Rowling. I'm sorry that it's so short but she has a lot of characters and so do I so if I listed them all, it would take up about half a page.

Enjoy and review!

* * *

That night, Hermione went on a bit of a rampage in the common room. The other students were asleep but Ron, Harry, Hermione, Annalisa, and Rupert hung around downstairs. The boys and Annalisa listened as Hermione paced back and forth on the hearth, ranting.

"That foul, wicked gargoyle! We're not learning anything in her classes! We won't be able to defend ourselves against You-Know-Who and his followers at this rate. We're _definitely_ not learning how to pass our OWLs, no matter what she says," she stopped and looked down at Ron. "She's dominating the whole school!"

Then, Fudge's voice came on over the radio. "Security has always been and always will be our first priority!" Harry turned the volume up as they listened, Ron, Rupert, and Annalisa looking over at it from over the back of the sofa. "Moreover, we have very compelling proof that these disappearances are the effort of the infamous convicted mass murderer, Sirius Black!"

"Oh go and blame everything on him…Effing idiot," Annalisa scoffed angrily. Ron gave her a look and she looked over at him. "What?"

"Nothing…" Ron said with a small grin and Annalisa blew it off just as someone spoke from the fireplace in front of them.

"Dad," Annalisa whispered and slid to her knees on the hearth. Harry, Rupert, and Hermione joined him as Ron remained sitting on the sofa.

"What are you doing…in there?" Harry asked.

"Answering the letter you sent me, of course," he explained, his face visible in the fire. "You said you were concerned about Umbridge. What is she up to? Training you all to kill half-breeds?"

"Ha! That involves magic," Annalisa sneered.

"She won't let us use magic at all," Rupert complained.

"I'm not too surprised. The latest news that we got is that Fudge doesn't want any of you to be trained in combat," Sirius explained.

"Combat? Does he think that we're forming some sort of army?" Ron asked.

"Yes, actually. He thinks that Dumbledore is accumulating his own armed forces to take over the Ministry," Sirius told them.

"That's a bit paranoid, isn't it?" Annalisa said as she relaxed on the rug.

"Yes, it is," Sirius agreed. "The others would kill me for telling you all this, even your mother, but you need to know…things aren't going well at all right now."

"With what?" Rupert asked, sounding worried.

"With us; the Order," Sirius said. "Fudge is obstructing the truth all of the time and all of these 'disappearances' are the way it started before…Voldemort is moving."

"Can we do anything?" Harry asked.

"I must go now; someone's coming," Sirius rushed. "I'm sorry that I can't help you more…but for now, it seems as though you're on your own."

"Bye, Dad," Annalisa and Rupert said hurriedly before his face disappeared. As the flames faded away, thunder clapped overhead. They all looked towards the ceiling and then the window, watching the rain splash against the window in buckets.

"He really is out there…" Hermione said quietly. "We have to do something about this…We have to be able to defend ourselves if we want to fight back."

"And since Umbridge won't teach us anything useful, we need to find another teacher," Annalisa added and Hermione nodded.

Hermione, Annalisa, Rupert, and Ron all looked at Harry.

* * *

The next weekend, after getting the word around to certain students during the week to meet at the Hog's Head on their Hogsmeade break, Harry, Annalisa, Hermione, and Ron walked through the snowy town of Hogsmeade to the Hog's Head.

"This is mad, you know that, don't you?" Harry asked Hermione as they walked. "Who would honestly want to be taught by me? I'm some kind of mad man, remember?"

"Think positive, Harry. You can't be any worse than that toad woman," Ron said, trying to comfort his friend. Annalisa laughed.

"Thanks, Ron," Harry said gloomily.

"I'm here for you, mate," Ron said as they approached the pub's doors.

"Who's supposed to be meeting us anyway?" Harry asked Hermione.

"Just a few others," Hermione said just as she opened the door.

As they looked about the inside, Ron mumbled under his breath. "Lovely spot, eh?"

"I thought it would be a better place to have a secret meeting than at the Three Broomsticks," Hermione defended her decision.

About ten minutes later, Neville, Luna, Ginny, Conri, Rupert, Fred, and George walked in and joined them. But soon, the group was about twenty, far more than Hermione had predicted. They were seated around the four, staring blankly, waiting. Hermione stood and cleared her throat.

"Hullo everyone…I'm guessing you all know why you're here, then," Hermione began and they all nodded. "We need a teacher…a proper teacher. Someone who's had real life experiences fighting against the Dark Arts."

"Why?" a Hufflepuff boy asked.

"Why? Because You-Know-Who's back, that's why, you tosspot," Ron snapped at him.

"So they say," the boy nodded towards Harry and Annalisa.

"So Dumbledore says," Hermione argued.

"So Dumbledore says because they say," the boy argued back. "My point is: where's your proof?"

"If you both told us more about how Cedric died…" Ginny's boyfriend, Michael Corner, began but Harry stood up quickly.

"I'm not going to talk about Cedric, so if that's why you've come, you might as well leave now," Harry said.

"What's there to explain anyway?" Annalisa said from her stool and everyone looked at her. Her eyes were filled with frustrated tears. "Voldemort told his follower to kill Cedric and so he did. That's it. What else is there to explain?" Everyone remained quiet now and then Harry turned to Hermione and whispered urgently to her.

"Let's just go. All they want to know is how Cedric died and I'm not going into any more detail than Annalisa's said," he whispered.

"Is it true that you both can produce corporeal Patronuses?" Luna asked from where she stood. Harry and Annalisa looked at her in surprise.

"Yeah…we can," Annalisa answered for Harry. "I used mine during the Triwizard Tournament against the dragon."

"I remember that!" about half of the group said together, all nodding with smiles.

"Blimey…We didn't know you could both do that," Dean said.

"Harry killed a basilisk with a sword in our second year. Annalisa helped him with that too…"

"It's true," Ginny agreed.

"In our third year, Harry fought off about a hundred or so Dementors," Ron said and Harry looked at him, surprised.

"And last year…he really did fight off Voldemort," Annalisa added and Harry looked back at her. "He really is back…"

"Wait…it sounds all great and dandy when you say it like that but the truth is that most of it was just luck. I didn't know what I was doing most of the time…and I almost always had help," Harry refuted.

"He's just being modest and humble," Hermione said.

"No, I'm not…Coming face-to-face with this stuff in real life is nothing like school. In school, we can always fix our mistakes…but out there, in reality, when you're just a second away from being killed or watching a friend die in front of you…" Annalisa blinked back her tears and looked away from everyone. Ron looked at her and she read the concern in his eyes but she shook her head. "None of you know what that's like yet."

"The reason why you're all here today…" Annalisa spoke, her voice choked as she slowly looked out into the small crowd, "is because you want to honor Cedric Diggory in some way…That's why Harry is here; that's why I'm here. We want to make sure that Cedric didn't die in vain. You have to be willing to learn and take criticism from a peer and not an actual teacher…you have to be willing to fight when the time comes. Harry has been ready to fight every time he's come up against something evil…and he's right: none of us know how it feels to come up against something or someone so evil that you might die or see a friend die."

"And that's why we need your help, Harry," Hermione added. "If we're going to have any chance at beating…" she paused and bit her lip briefly before forcing the name out of her mouth. "Voldemort…"

"So he really is back?" Dennis Creevey asked. Harry and Annalisa both nodded, neither one looking at the other. Soon, Hermione had a piece of parchment out and a quill and ink bottle for everyone to use to sign the parchment with. Hermione, Ron, Annalisa, and Harry signed first and then the line formed. Before George left, he pulled his girlfriend to him and kissed her forehead, holding her close. She snuggled against him briefly and then kissed his jaw, sniffling. He left with Fred, Conri, and Rupert as she settled back down with Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

* * *

Later that day, when they were heading back to the school, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Conri, Rupert, Annalisa, Neville, Luna, Fred, and George spoke about their upcoming secret meetings. Problem was: they had nowhere to meet to have the lessons.

"We need a place to practice," he said and they all grinned and nodded. "It has to be a place that Umbridge won't be able to find."

"The Shrieking Shack," Ginny put in but Harry shook his head.

"No, it's too small but good idea, Ginny," he told her. She blushed slightly and very briefly, nodding at him.

"How about the Forbidden Forest?" Hermione asked.

"Not bloody likely," Ron grumbled. "With those huge spiders out there?"

"It's too difficult to get to during the day and during the night. Plus, we just might come upon something we don't want to come upon…Not to mention the Centaurs would be furious," Annalisa said and Hermione nodded.

"But what happens if Umbridge does find out?" Ginny asked.

"Who cares? I mean, breaking the rules is a bit exciting, isn't it?" Hermione asked rhetorically and they all grinned at her.

"Who are you and what have you done with Hermione?" Ron asked and Hermione blushed slightly.

"Besides, I have an idea about how to tell everyone about the meetings," Annalisa said and everyone looked back at her. She smiled slyly. "Galleons bewitched to heat up to signal that there will be a meeting. The writing on the metal will say the time and date of the meeting," she explained and George smiled at Fred.

"My girlfriend's clever," he said to Fred and Fred rolled his eyes as Annalisa blushed.

"Anyway, we know at least one positive thing happened at the meeting today," Hermione went on, looking smug.

"What's that, Hermione?" Harry asked and Hermione smiled.

"Cho couldn't take her eyes off of you today, Harry," she said and Annalisa's eyes went straight to Ginny, who looked a bit dejected and upset. She quickly recovered but Annalisa caught it.

"So, over the next several days, we all should come up with a few possible places to have our lessons. There must be no chance that she can find us at each place we come up with," Harry went on, ignoring Hermione's comment.

* * *

Not long after their meeting in Hogsmeade, a new educational decree was put out. It banned all student organizations. The members of Harry's new teaching group knew that she somehow found out about what they were doing. She didn't know any of students who were part of the group except for Harry, Annalisa, Hermione, and Ron, all of whom had instigated the meeting.

Quidditch, the Wizard Chess Team, the Dueling Club, Gobstones Club, the Dance Club, the choir, and the band were all stopped and if a student or students wanted one of them back, they had to beg for it and get permission from Umbridge. Though Quidditch, Gobstones, the Wizard Chess Club, the Dance Club, the choir, and the band were put back into practice, the Dueling Club was completely disbanded.

It didn't take Harry long to get banned for a lifetime from Quidditch with his continuous arguments with Umbridge. Angelina Johnson was captain and she replaced Harry with Ginny. They were actually doing alright from what Annalisa and Harry could tell, with the few games that they were able to go to. Their hands were getting scarred, the skin becoming tough and light pink until it was ripped open again by the quills that they had to use in detentions.

When George found out about what was happening to Annalisa in those detentions, he threw a fit. He had gotten so angry that he had yelled at her for not saying something sooner and then they got into an argument which resulted in her storming off in a huff. They didn't talk for a few days afterwards.

Neville found Annalisa alone in the library one day, eagerly grabbing her arm. "Annalisa! Come with me," he whispered urgently and Annalisa blinked in surprise but grabbed her book and headed off with Neville.

"Neville, where are we going?" she asked as he led her up staircases and through halls.

"You'll see," he said with a grin. Finally, after climbing another staircase, Neville began to pace in front of a blank wall. After his third pace, he looked up and the wall began to make a door. Annalisa watched with wide eyes as the new doors opened wide and she and Neville stepped into it. Her mouth was gaping open for a few seconds before she grinned and hugged Neville.

"This is brilliant, Neville! Come on! We need to find the others!" she grabbed Neville's hand and the two of them ran down to the courtyard outside of the school, where they found Ron, Harry, Hermione, Fred, George, Ginny, Conri, Rupert, and Luna. Then, Neville and Annalisa led the other nine to the wall that was blank again. Neville did his pacing and then the door reappeared and opened again. They all stepped in and the doors closed behind them.

"You've done it, Neville!" Hermione said excitedly.

"I've read about this room before…I think I found it once when I was little. I was trying to hide from Conri and Rupert and this door just appeared out of nowhere. I believe it's called the Room of Requirement," Annalisa enlightened.

"What's it called again?" Ron asked.

"The Room of Requirement," Annalisa repeated.

"I've heard of it too…" Hermione began. "It's also known as the Come and Go Room. It only shows up when a person really needs it. And it always has exactly what the seeker wants inside of it."

"Say someone needed to use the loo…" Ron said, his voice trailing.

Hermione closed her eyes in slight exasperation. "That was pleasant, Ronald…but yes, that's the idea," she explained.

They were all looking around the room, which had wide open space and a high ceiling. There was a dummy on a wheel with a target branded on its chest and there were large pillows lined up against the walls.

"It's almost as if Hogwarts wants us to fight back…" Annalisa said as she looked around.

"It's brilliant," Harry agreed and they all looked at each other, grinning. They had found their place of practice.

* * *

Thanks Wessums for the review. Please enjoy the new chapter and please review. That's for everyone, btw. The reason why I haven't been updating every 5 days is because many of my readers have either stopped reading or have gotten lazy and no one leaves me reviews anymore. I'm tempted to stop updating this story and quit all together. I would hate to do that because I have spent _**a lot**_ of time on these stories. -Siriusgrl88


	12. The Meetings

Ok, here goes. Disclaimer: Annalisa Dairine Black, Aurora Clementine Badeau, Conri Carmine Black, Rupert Severus Badeau (Lupin-Snape), Aberto Adriano Badeau, Alicia Doireann Badeau (nee Riddle), Timothy Durante Badeau, Alfred Cillain Badeau, Holly Caoimhe Badeau, Nicola Sorcha Badeau, Italia Isla Badeau, Thekla Sophia Badeau (nee Metaxas), Maximus Eligio Badeau, Alexander Fidel Badeau, Massimo Cillian Badeau, Dolores Maria Badeau (nee DaSilva), anyone else mentioned in my fanfics that aren't in Jo's books are (C) me :)

Pippa Nicole Lupin-LaVigne (C) Ashley :)

Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Fred and George Weasley, and anyone else whom you recognize from the books are (C) Jo Rowling. I'm sorry that it's so short but she has a lot of characters and so do I so if I listed them all, it would take up about half a page.

Enjoy and review!

* * *

They had their first meeting not long afterwards, though it wasn't much because Hermione said that they needed somethings taken care of before they actually started their lessons.

"We need a leader," Hermione said to them all.

"Well, Harry's the leader, isn't he?" Cho asked and Harry looked immensely happy.

"But if we all vote on it, it gives Harry the proper authority. So, all those in favor of Harry being the leader raise your hand," Hermione said and the whole group, besides Harry, raised their hands, even those few boys who resented Harry. "Alright…that's settled. Now, we need a name for our group."

"Why?" Marietta Edgecombe asked.

"Because it gives us all a sense of unity," Hermione replied.

"Plus, it's cool," Conri added and everyone laughed slightly as he grinned.

"So, any ideas?" Ron asked the group.

"Oh, what about the Anti-Umbridge League?" Angelina Johnson put in.

"Or we could go with the Ministry of Magic Are Morons Group," Fred said next.

"M.M.A.M.G. Mmamg," George said and some people chuckled because it sounded like gibberish.

"People outside of our group shouldn't be able to understand what we're up to. Those were great ideas, though," Hermione said.

"What about Potter's Army? Or Potter's Defense Group?" Neville added.

"How about the Defense Association?" Katie Bell came up with and Annalisa, nodded, a growing smile on her face.

"Or…D.A. for Dumbledore's Army," Annalisa said and everyone looked like they liked the idea.

"That would be great! Especially since that's the Ministry's worst fear right now," Ginny added and the group collectively nodded and laughed a bit.

"All those in favor of Dumbledore's Army?" Hermione asked and everyone raised their hands high. She smiled and wrote it down at the top of the signed piece of parchment.

* * *

After a few lessons, people were really starting to enjoy coming to learn from Harry. Harry instructed Annalisa to help him sometimes and Annalisa took up the job eagerly. But poor Neville seemed to struggle.

"I'm hopeless, Harry," Neville whined in frustration when his wand shot through the air after he tried the disarming spell.

"No, you're not, Neville. You're just floundering your wand around too much, that's all. Try it like this…_Expelliarmus_!" Harry said and the fake wand in the dummy's hand went soaring away from it.

* * *

Neville took their lessons seriously and could often be spotted trying to hide his wand waving techniques throughout the school. After a few days, Annalisa realized that Umbridge was sicking Filch on them. Every time students came for their lessons, Filch was always nearby but not quick enough to catch them. They soon moved from disarming spells onto stunning spells.

"A stunning spell is probably one of the most useful spells you can use against someone. It's like a wizard's and witch's bread and butter. So, who would like to try it on me? Nigel, how about you?"

Nigel nodded and stepped up. He faced Harry, standing about five yards away from Harry. Nigel waved his wand and yelled "_Stupefy_!" Both he and Harry were flung backwards, grunting as they hit the pillows behind them.

Harry got up and dusted himself off, smirking at Nigel. "Not bad at all, Nigel." Nigel grinned. "Annalisa, George, why don't you two try it on one another?"

Annalisa nodded and stepped to where Nigel had been. George took Harry's place and the two smiled slightly at one another before Annalisa attacked. "_Stupefy_!"

George grunted when the spell hit him square in the chest and he flew backwards onto the pillow. When he sat up, he gave her an 'I wasn't ready' look. She shrugged sheepishly and went over to help him up. She hugged him in apology.

"Now, in real life situations, this wouldn't happen afterwards…" Harry pointed out and everyone chuckled. "But what Annalisa did is the key to making sure you survive…attacking them before they can attack you. Unfortunately, Voldemort and his followers are mostly all adults so they're quicker and in some cases, better. But that's why we'll also be getting to protection spells, which Annalisa is really good at so she'll be helping me teach that one. Now, whoever wants to go next can…"

Ron and Hermione went some time later and Ron spoke to her before he took his spot. "Don't be concerned, Hermione. I'll be easy with you, I swear," he promised and Hermione gave him a disbelieving look.

"Why, thank you, Ronald," she said dryly as he walked away from her. As Ron walked away, his brothers and friends cheered him on but Annalisa and the girls kept giving Hermione thumbs up, smiling sweetly.

"One Sickle," Fred bet George and George grinned.

"Deal," he said and Conri and Rupert edged closer.

"One Sickle for what?" Conri asked.

"Betting that Hermione will put Ron in his place," George whispered back and Rupert and Conri grinned at one another.

"Betting that _Ron_ will put Hermione in _her_ place," Fred argued. Everyone waited silently, watching. Annalisa couldn't keep the grin from creeping onto her face. Just as Ron was about to say the spell, Hermione acted at once.

"_Stupefy_!" she yelled and Ron flew backwards with a yelp. Fred handed George a Sickle, grumbling.

"Thank you, Fred," George said.

"Shut up, George," Fred responded in annoyance as Ron approached them.

"I let her do that intentionally. It's called good manners," he tried to recover. The group of boys looked over at the giggling group of girls, only Hermione and Annalisa looked back at them. Annalisa waved at Ron and stuck her tongue out at him when he made a face at her. She smiled at George and then turned back to Hermione, whispering something in her ear. Hermione laughed and Annalisa glanced back at Ron with a sly smirk.

* * *

A few days later, Umbridge began to pull in "suspicious students" for questioning about this secret society within the school. She picked out Annalisa first for good measure.

"Come in, dear," Umbridge said sweetly and Annalisa made a gagging motion behind Umbridge's back. "Please sit." Annalisa sat in the big pink armchair and stared back at Umbridge impassively. Dolores smiled like a school girl at Annalisa but Annalisa refused to show a single emotion. "Would you like some tea?" Dolores asked as she stood and went to make a cup. Annalisa watched her intently and realized that she was putting more than just tea and sugar into that little white and pink tea cup. Dolores sat it down in front of Annalisa after she finished making it and Annalisa stared at it briefly before looking back up at Dolores.

"So, I must question you about this secret society…" Dolores began.

"Must you?" Annalisa asked and Dolores gave her a half stern, half happy look.

"Yes. Now, are you a part of this secret club?"

"No," Annalisa replied dryly.

"Are you sure? Why don't you have some of your tea…"

"I'm not thirsty, thanks…"

"Oh but sure you are…please, it would be rude if you don't," Dolores encouraged and Annalisa pursed her lips into a bitter smile. She picked the cup up and brought the rim to her lips. She pressed her lips together firmly and then tipped the cup up slightly. She felt the warm liquid try to ease pass her lips like a trapped cat trying to squeeze out under a closed door. She set the cup back down and took the napkin, dabbing her lips lightly, smiling sugary sweetly at Dolores, whose growing mischief was starting to irritate Annalisa.

"Now, are you sure you're not a part of this club?"

"I'm not a part of any club," Annalisa answered and Dolores' face faltered slightly. It took Annalisa everything she had not to grin wickedly.

"You're positively sure?"

"Quite."

"Do you know anyone who is? If you give anyone up, I can guarantee you an internship at the Ministry…as an Auror's intern…" Umbridge tempted, knowing full well that Annalisa had talked to McGonagall about becoming an Auror. Annalisa had to bite her tongue from telling Umbridge to stick her wand where the sun didn't shine.

"No…nobody I know is in any club," she replied stiffly but added a sweet smile. Dolores' smirk dimmed slightly.

"Where is your father?" Dolores asked out of the blue. Annalisa caught herself before she showed her surprise. Her heart began to pound hard in her chest and she felt her blood rushing much quicker in her veins.

"I have no idea where he is," she answered and Dolores eyed her for a few seconds.

"Alright then…you may leave…Tell Mr. Potter I want to see him next," she told Annalisa. Annalisa nodded curtly and left the room quickly. She hurried down the steps and went to Harry.

"She wants to see you, Harry," she said to him and he nodded but before he could take a step forward, Annalisa mouthed the words "Don't drink the tea" to him. He acted as if nothing happened and walked away towards Dolores' office. The other students, who were all in the club, all saw her mouth those words and they all discreetly nodded to her, letting her know that they understood. She left the room, relieved.

* * *

Over the next few weeks, everyone was progressing nicely. They were reviewing the spells and charms already learned as Harry and Annalisa walked around, correcting what needed to be corrected and encouraging everyone.

"Working hard is very important. But there's something else that matters even more than effort: believing in yourself and what you can do," Harry began.

"Think of it like this: every great wizard or witch in history began as nothing more than what we are right now. Students," Annalisa added.

"If they could do it, why not us?" Harry finished and everyone grinned as they continued to practice with their spells. Later on that night, they all gathered in a circle and each took turns having a go at the dummy on a wheel. They were all doing really well and everyone had gotten to it at least three times when Ginny used "Reducto!" on it. The dummy gave a small explosion and all that was left was a pile of dust at Ginny's feet. Everyone looked at Ginny in surprise and awe.

"Good job, Ginny!" Conri and Rupert chorused and she blushed slightly, looking around at everyone's impressed faces. Then they grouped off again and Harry and Annalisa did their patrolling around the room. As Annalisa passed Neville, he cried "_Expelliarmus_!" and disarmed Parvati. Annalisa looked at him and grinned.

"Brilliant, Neville!" she exclaimed and many others rushed to him to give him congratulations after struggling with that spell for so long. Not much later, Harry, Annalisa, Ron, and Hermione stood at the front of the room to give a small announcement.

"That's all for this lesson. We won't be meeting again until after the holiday break," Harry said and the others whined softly in disappointment. "Just keep practicing on your own then."

"And well done, all of you. Fantastic work," Annalisa added and Harry nodded in agreement.

"Yes, you've all done brilliantly," he included. Everyone applauded and Ron leaned close to Harry.

"Well done, Harry," he whispered and Harry smiled.

"Thanks, Ron."

Harry and Cho seemed to lock eyes and she lingered behind after everyone began to leave. She was staring at the picture of Cedric that Conri and Rupert had put up on the mirror in the room. Hermione and Ron stepped away and left after saying 'see you later' to Harry and Annalisa. Annalisa waited for Fred, George, Ginny, Neville, Conri, and Rupert while Harry approached Cho slowly. Fred and George stopped Harry but he kind of absentmindedly brushed them off.

Neville, Ginny, Conri, Rupert, and Luna left together and Annalisa hooked her arm in one of George's as she and the Weasley twins left the room. "Why did he brush us off?" Fred asked on their way back to the common room.

"He wanted to speak with Cho," Annalisa said and both boys realized what she meant.

* * *

Later on, in the common room, when the rest of the students had gone to sleep, Harry talked to Ron, Hermione, and Annalisa about his encounter with Cho Chang.

"So…how was it? Is she a good snogger?" Ron asked and Annalisa rolled her eyes.

"It was…wet…" Harry admitted and they all laughed softly. "She was crying so…"

"Are you really that bad?" Ron asked, chuckling.

"I'm sure Harry's a more than satisfying kisser," Hermione scolded Ron and Annalisa snorted with laughter. Harry gave Ron a 'there you go' look. "Besides…Cho spends about half her time crying lately."

"Yeah, but you'd think some snogging would cheer her up, eh?" Ron asked, chuckling still.

"You're not getting it, Ron. You don't understand what she's feeling," Annalisa scolded and Ron looked like a reprimanded child. "She's still quite hung up on Cedric and that makes her confused about liking Harry and guilty about snogging with him. Not to mention that she's conflicted because her mum works at the Ministry and Umbridge might have her sacked any day now while Cho is attending our sessions. And terrified about possibly failing her OWLs because she's worrying about everything else," Annalisa elucidated.

"One person can't feel all that, can they? They'd explode from it all," Ron said and Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Just because you have the emotional range of a teaspoon…" Hermione said to Ron. Annalisa, Ron, and Harry began to laugh and Hermione joined them.

* * *

Annalisa was walking through a dark room, following a tall man with red hair.

'Who are you?' she asked but the man continued on, having not heard her. 'Wait! Who are you? Mr. Weasley, is that you?' she asked again as she saw that his hair was red, but still the man walked on, ignoring her. She kept following him, very curious about this strange dream. The man's wand was the only light in the darkness. She could see that they were passing doors in a dark hallway. Suddenly, she heard hissing and she turned as she heard it. She gasped sharply and pressed herself up against the wall. A huge snake, the one from the cemetery months ago, slithered towards the man. 'Mr. Weasley! Run!' she yelled but he didn't hear her.

He turned when the snake was near him but it was too late for him to react. The snake was on him, biting and hissing. Mr. Weasley writhed in agony on the floor, blood oozing from his wounds. 'Mr. Weasley! No!' she screamed and then she was sitting bolt upright in her bed, panting heavily and sweating. Hermione was by her side in seconds, feeling her forehead as the other girls stared at them with wide, frightened eyes. Annalisa turned to Hermione.

"Are you alright, Annie?" Hermione asked worriedly. Annalisa shook her head and flung her covers off of her. She hurriedly slipped her feet into her slippers and ran out of the door and down the stairwell, Hermione on her heels. "Annie! Wait! What happened?"

Annalisa turned and went straight up to the boy's dormitories. As soon as she got to the fifth year boy room, she began banging loudly on the door. "Ron! Harry!" she yelled and the door flung open. Annalisa walked in and looked around. Harry was sitting straight up in bed, pale, sweaty, shaking, and panting. "You saw it too..." she whispered and Harry nodded. Annalisa whirled around and ran out of the room, pass the gathering boys on the stairs and down to the common room. She then ran out of the common room and turned to the Fat Lady. "Fat lady! I need your help! We need Professor McGonagall here now, please!"

The Fat Lady and her friends worked quickly and within minutes, McGonagall was rushing Harry, Annalisa, Rupert, Hermione, and the Weasley children to Dumbledore's office. They entered his office and Dumbledore set to work quickly as soon as McGonagall had told him what Annalisa had told her. Annalisa was now besides herself as tears fought to fall. She shook and gasped for breath, her eyes closed as Dumbledore spoke to her and Harry.

"In these dreams, were you both standing next to the victim or looking down at the scene?"

"Neither," Harry answered shakily. "It was like I was…" he couldn't finish and he looked over at Annalisa, who kept her eyes closed.

"I was standing next to him…" Annalisa began slowly. She was losing her battle with her tears. "I tried to tell him to run but he couldn't hear me!" she sobbed and Aurora, who had joined them not long after they had arrived, pulled her daughter into her arms.

"Shhh…" she comforted Annalisa. Annalisa clung to her mother and sobbed hard.

"Headmaster, please tell me what's going on…" Harry pleaded but Dumbledore ignored him and asked one of the portraits to go to St. Mungo's. He also told Phineas, one of Annalisa's very dead, very infamous great-great-great grandfathers, to go to Grimmauld Place and tell the Order Members there that Arthur was attacked and to tell them that the Weasley children would be leaving for the headquarters soon by portkey. Then Everard, the man in the portrait that went to the Ministry, came back.

"They found him, Albus. It was very close, indeed, but they believe that he'll make it," the painted man explained. Annalisa sighed heavily in relief and looked over at George and the other Weasley children apologetically. George walked to her quietly and took her in his arms, kissing the top of her head as she clung to him now. Aurora stepped back and watched Harry warily, her arms resting around Hermione and Rupert's shoulders now. "In addition, the Dark Lord did not retrieve that which he desires."

"Oh thank goodness," Dumbledore said in relief, ceasing his pacing. "Now all we need to do---"

"LOOK AT ME!" Harry bellowed and everyone looked at him with large, startled eyes. Dumbledore looked at Harry in alarm. Harry panted for a few seconds before speaking again. "What's happening to me?"

Annalisa watched him with wide eyes as she clung to George, her cheeks still wet even though her tears had ceased falling. Just then, Severus entered the room and looked around in slight confusion before speaking to Dumbledore.

"You called, Headmaster?"

"Severus, I'm afraid we can't wait any longer, not even till morning. Or else, we'll all be vulnerable," Dumbledore told Severus. Snape nodded and quickly grabbed Harry's wrist and left with him. Annalisa watched before turning back to Dumbledore.

"Where is he taking Harry?" she asked but Dumbledore ignored her.

"Ronald, Ginny, Fred, and George…You'll all be going to Grimmauld Place tonight by portkey. Tonks, Sirius, and Remus should be waiting for you there," Dumbledore told them.

"Where did Snape take Harry?" Annalisa asked again and this time Dumbledore looked at her.

"I cannot tell you that but I'm sure Harry will when you see him next. Now, Miss Granger, Miss and Mr. Black, you three will be going with the Weasley children. Conri is on his way up here with Professor Flitwick right now."

A few moments later, after Conri had joined them, Annalisa, her brothers, Hermione, and the Weasley kids were all holding onto a piece of parchment. Then, with a yank, they were gone from the room, leaving Aurora, Minerva, Filius, and Albus alone together. Aurora rounded on Albus immediately.

"You're going to let Severus do Occlumency lessons on Harry?"

"He's very skilled at it, Aurora," Dumbledore said simply.

"He might be skilled at it, Albus, but I can guarantee that I'm better. Otherwise, how did I get my job?"

"I know you're extremely talented in Occlumency but you're also very talented in compassion," Dumbledore replied.

"What?" Aurora was a bit confused.

"You know that on a beginner, Occlumency is painful both physically and emotionally…You would take pity on Harry too easily. He needs to be trained and he needs someone to train him that isn't always on his side," Albus explained.

"Severus is _never_ on his side!"

"On the contrary, he is. Severus is fighting against Voldemort like the rest of us."

"That means nothing compared to the way he treats Harry. I understand that he somehow still holds a grudge against James but that's no reason to take it out on Harry. I mean, just because he looks like James doesn't mean he's a great big bully!"

"Aurora, please calm down."

"I don't agree with this, Albus…"

"I know, but please understand that it's for Harry's and everyone else's safety," Albus tried but Aurora shook her head, frowned, and raised her hand in a dismissing way before leaving the room.

* * *

Here we go. Another chapter. Thank you Musical Via for the alerts and review, and thank you kat183 for the review.

Musical Via: I'm so happy that I was able to do that for you :) It's always great to know that I can do that for people. These parts of my fanfics are a mix of the books and movies; more so the movies.

So that's it. Just review. -Siriusgrl88


	13. The Holidays

Ok, here goes. Disclaimer: Annalisa Dairine Black, Aurora Clementine Badeau, Conri Carmine Black, Rupert Severus Badeau (Lupin-Snape), Aberto Adriano Badeau, Alicia Doireann Badeau (nee Riddle), Timothy Durante Badeau, Alfred Cillain Badeau, Holly Caoimhe Badeau, Nicola Sorcha Badeau, Italia Isla Badeau, Thekla Sophia Badeau (nee Metaxas), Maximus Eligio Badeau, Alexander Fidel Badeau, Massimo Cillian Badeau, Dolores Maria Badeau (nee DaSilva), anyone else mentioned in my fanfics that aren't in Jo's books are (C) me :)

Pippa Nicole Lupin-LaVigne (C) Ashley :)

Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Fred and George Weasley, and anyone else whom you recognize from the books are (C) Jo Rowling. I'm sorry that it's so short but she has a lot of characters and so do I so if I listed them all, it would take up about half a page.

Enjoy and review!

* * *

Ron, Hermione, Annalisa, Conri, Rupert, Ginny, Fred, and George were in the dining room at Grimmauld Place watching a miniature Santa flying around the room, saying his usual "Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas!" as he went. Molly wheeled Arthur into the room and sat him at the head of the table.

"Daddy's home!" Molly said to her kids and everyone clapped for him. "Let's sit down now and open presents!"

Fred and George had homemade scarves that they both put on immediately, looking smug and snobbish. Ron pulled out a homemade fur vest with 'R' on the right shoulder. Ginny got a homemade jacket that she put on as well. Hermione opened hers and smiled happily at the sweater with 'S.P.E.W.' on the left sleeve. Annalisa opened her present from the Weasley's and grinned. It was a vest that was short and form-fitting; it was black and had a scarlet 'A' sewn in on the bottom. Harry entered the room, Sirius and Aurora following him. Molly went to Harry and gave him his present and a hug before going back to Arthur.

"I want to make a Christmas toast...to Harry Potter and Annalisa Black," Arthur said, raising his glass to the two teens. Annalisa and Harry looked at him in slight surprise. The other's followed Arthur's lead and raised their glasses to Harry and Annalisa as well. "Without them, I would not be here today, celebrating the holidays and life with my family and friends. Harry and Annalisa."

The others echoed Harry's and Annalisa's name and Annalisa bit her lip and smiled gratefully. She looked over at Harry and they locked eyes. She smiled at him but he barely smiled back.

* * *

Annalisa wandered the halls of 12 Grimmauld Place that evening while everyone else was upstairs, getting ready for bed. She took in the interior of the house as she went, keeping away from the walls, which were filthy. She saw that there was a door open and she went to it and peeked in. "Harry," she said his name and Harry looked up at her, startled. She walked into the room and looked around. The wall paper had names and pictures all over it but they were embedded in the walls. "How strange…" she whispered as she examined a few names close up. "Wait a minute…This is a family tree…"

"Your family tree, I think…They've all got the last name Black," Harry said and Annalisa nodded as she realized it.

"Dad never said anything about this room…"

"Because I don't like it," Sirius said from the doorway. Annalisa and Harry turned to him and both smiled. "It is a family tree of my ancestors and relatives. Only a few of us are blasted off of it…See here?" he pointed to a black spot on the wall. "That would be Andromeda's place if she hadn't gone and married a Muggle-born wizard. She's my favorite cousin…besides Tonks and Arthur, that is."

"Wait…So, we're related to the Weasleys?" Annalisa asked as she gazed up at her father. He nodded and Annalisa paled. "How related to the Weasleys are we?"

"Arthur is my second cousin once removed," Sirius said and Annalisa suddenly felt uncomfortable. This went unnoticed by Harry and Sirius as Harry went on.

"You're related to the Malfoys?" Harry said and Annalisa nodded.

"Yeah, Mum told me about that right before we started our first year…she figured that I wouldn't get along with him anyway but she thought that I should know because he knew," Annalisa said as she fingered the blasted part of the family tree that would have been Sirius' spot.

"I feel for you, mate," Harry told her and she made a face at him.

"Thanks, Harry," she said sarcastically and he grinned. "So you're not on here either?" she asked her father, changing the subject slightly.

"Yeah…after I ran away my mother blasted my name and picture off of the wall. Uncle Alphard is also blasted off of here…he left me a great sum of money after he passed away. Mother didn't like that at all…"

"Wait…you had a brother?" Harry asked as he pointed at a different man.

"Oh, so there's Uncle Regulus…Mum said she tried to help him but she never went into detail about what…" Annalisa said as she scrutinized Regulus' spot on the tree, her finger tip lightly trailing her uncle's name.

"She tried to get him to go into Hiding and leave Voldemort and his Death Eaters. He ended up getting cold feet and was killed; most likely by some of Voldemort's goons rather than Voldemort himself. My brother wasn't important enough to be personally killed by Voldemort," Sirius said bitterly and Annalisa frowned, disturbed by her father's distaste for his own brother. She couldn't imagine feeling such contempt for her brothers.

"Look here, Annalisa," Sirius said as he pointed at a blasted part of the family tree with his wand. "That's where my great-great-great-great-great-great uncle, Castor Vega Black, would be if he hadn't married a Muggle woman. He was the first in my entire family to be blasted off of the tree…You're named after the woman he married. Her name was Annalisa Mary Quintin. You have her first name as your first name and Merlin's daughter's first name as your middle name," Sirius told Annalisa, who gazed up at Castor's blasted spot.

"Cool," she and Harry said together and Sirius grinned briefly.

"I'm not proud to be a part of this family…Only of the ones who broke away from it…" he finished before he walked out of the room, leaving Annalisa and Harry alone.

* * *

The end of the holidays came too quickly for Annalisa's liking but she headed down the stairs with Hermione, Harry, and Ron none-the-less.

"Honestly, Ronald, I don't know why you wouldn't want to wear it," Hermione teased Ron about his vest.

"It's because it makes me look like a bloody idiot," Ron whined.

"What are you going on about?" Annalisa asked, a grin growing on her face. "You've always looked like a bloody idiot."

"Oh, now you're turning into George, you are," Ron scowled and Annalisa's grin grew.

"The consequence of dating a Weasley twin," she admitted with a shrug and a grin. They joined the others in the dining room when Annalisa noticed that Harry was missing. She looked at her mother, who nodded and walked out to find Harry.

She found Harry with Sirius in a room. Sirius seemed to have had a heart-to-heart with Harry. Aurora knocked on the wooden frame of the door and the two males looked over at her. She smiled slightly at them both. "Harry, it's time to leave," she said and Harry nodded. He and Sirius approached Aurora together and she reached out to tweak Harry's ear affectionately.

"When all of this is over and done with, we'll all be a proper family," Sirius said to Harry as he gazed at his wife. Aurora nodded when Harry looked to her for confirmation.

"We will be," she said softly. Harry and Sirius hugged and then Harry left the room to join the others. Aurora looked at her husband when Harry was out of earshot. "Are you feeling alright? You look sick…"

"I'm fine," Sirius told her and rested his hands on the small of her back. She placed her hands on his lapel and fiddled with the chain to his pocket watch.

"You worry me sometimes, Sirius Black," she muttered and closed her eyes when she felt his warm lips press against her forehead. "Whatever you do, don't leave me again, alright?" she asked as she looked back up at him.

"I don't plan to," he whispered and they kissed, softly at first and then with more vigor.

"Um…hmmm…" Aurora turned at the voice and blushed when she saw Molly. "Sorry…I just wanted to tell you that we need to go…"

Aurora and Sirius nodded and Molly waddled away, blushing. Aurora laughed softly in embarrassment with Sirius as they rested their foreheads together. "That was embarrassing," Aurora mumbled and Sirius just chuckled.

"You better go…" he whispered and he twirled her away from him, as if they were dancing. Their hands still touched as she smiled a bit sadly at him.

"I'll be back every weekend, as usual," she told him and Sirius made a face.

"Again? You keep showing up around here, woman, and I'm going to go insane!" he teased and Aurora slapped his wrist.

"Sirius Black, you make it sound as if you don't like our time together," she hinted at the real meaning and Sirius grinned wickedly.

"Oh but I do loooove our time together," he purred and slapped her bottom. She squeaked, her cheeks flushing darkly as she hurried away, her black high heels clip-clapping against the wooden floors. She gave him one last smile from over her shoulder right before she walked out the front door.

* * *

When school started again, no one was quite happy about it except for Hermione of course. It was a few days later when Hagrid arrived. Hagrid had told Aurora to tell Annalisa, who would tell the others of his return. Aurora did just that and Annalisa smiled from ear-to-ear and ran off to tell Hermione and Ron. They found Conri and Rupert on the way to find Harry and told them as well. Then the five found Harry with his girlfriend, Cho, and Annalisa grabbed his sleeve.

"Harry, Hagrid's back," she whispered to him and he quickly said sorry to Cho before hurrying off with the others to visit Hagrid. They ran down the sloped hill leading to Hagrid's and stopped just before his front door as they heard Dolores' voice from inside.

"I will only ask you one last time, Mr. Hagrid. Where have you been?" she asked him in a slightly demanding tone of voice.

"I've told you though…I've been away for me health," Hagrid said.

Annalisa smiled at the familiar voice. 'I never thought I'd be so happy to hear his voice,' she thought to herself as she followed Ron, Harry, Hermione, and her brothers to the window of Hagrid's hut.

"You're health, you say?"

"Yeah…a bit of fresh air," Hagrid told her.

"As gamekeeper, I'm sure fresh air is hard to come by," she mocked him and Annalisa scowled. "I wouldn't get too cozy and settled in…you probably won't be here for much longer. You might as well not unpack at all."

The teens hid quickly when Dolores came out of the hut and walked off in a slight huff. They carefully made their way into Hagrid's hut and settled down around him. He held a cold piece of meat to his head when Annalisa asked the question eating away at all of them.

"Where have you been?"

"It's top-secret…" he began and they all sighed. "So you can't tell anyone else." The teens perked up and listened intently. "Dumbledore sent me to talk with the giants."

"Giants?!" Conri asked in excitement.

"Cool!" Rupert exclaimed.

"Shhh!" Hagrid put a finger to his lips.

"So you found them then?" Hermione asked, her eyes wandered to each wound on him.

"Well, they're really not that hard to find, considering," Hagrid answered. "I tried to convince them to join our side but when Olympe and I were there, some Death Eaters showed up as well."

"Olympe? You mean, Madam Maxime went with you?" Annalisa asked and Hagrid nodded, blushing slightly.

"Who did the Giants listen to?" Harry asked.

"Well, I gave them Dumbledore's message and they seemed pretty impressed. I think some of them remember him and how friendly he was with them in the past."

"And the Giants did this to you?" Ron asked.

"Well…not exactly…" Fang barked at Hagrid and Hagrid glared half-heartedly at the dog before tossing the meat to him. "Dozy dog…" he muttered. A cold wind blew in through the cracks in the hut and the teens and Hagrid stood to look out through the window. Dark clouds were rolling in and thunder and lightning loomed. "It's changing out there…" Hagrid said and the teens watched the horizon apprehensively. "Just like before…There's a storm coming up soon and we all better be prepared when she does."

* * *

The next day, Neville received a _Daily Prophet_ and stared wide-eyed at the front page. "'We have established that eleven of our high-security prisoners escaped Azkaban yesterday in the early hours of the morning…'" he read aloud and the Gryffindor table hushed down to listen as they all sat in the Great Hall for lunch. "'The Muggle Prime Minister has been notified of this danger. We strongly suspect Sirius Black for the break outs. He is, after all, the first to escape Azkaban and moreover, his cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange, is an escapee.'"

"Does it list the other escapees off?" Lavender asked in fright. Neville nodded, glaring down at a picture of Bellatrix.

"'_Jonathan Travers, Ewald Mulciber, Alecto and Amycus Carrow, Antonin Dolohov, Augustus Rookwood, Brent Yaxley, Rodolphus Lestrange, Rabastan Lestrange, Bellatrix Lestrange, and Alfred Badeau_,'" Annalisa read the list off and looked around the room. The entire school was abuzz with the news.

'Alfred Badeau…Why does that seem familiar?' Annalisa thought as she stared down at the name and then at the picture of the man. His hair was ruffled and he looked placid and passive, his eyes almost dead as he held his large card up that had his prisoner number on it and the cell number. His head was slightly cocked to the side and his mouth was shut in a lazy way. The clothes he was wearing were tattered, dirty and too big for him. His eyes reminded her of someone and his face, though gaunt and dirty, seemed familiar in appearance.

"Dumbledore warned Fudge about this," Hermione said, breaking Annalisa out of her thoughts. "He's going to get us all killed because he's a coward who doesn't want to face the truth."

"Hey, Harry?" Seamus called as he approached the part of the table that they were at. Dean followed Seamus and Annalisa, Hermione, Ron, Rupert, Conri, Fred, George, Lee, and Harry all looked up at him. "I eh…I wanted to apologize for calling you a liar and being rude to you. Me mam even agrees that the _Prophet's_ version of events just don't add up…So, I guess what I'm really trying to say here is that I believe you now…"

Harry stared at him for a few seconds before responding. "Glad you're with us now, Seamus," he said and Seamus grinned. They shook hands and Seamus looked over at Annalisa, his grin disappearing.

"Annalisa, I'm sorry---"

"All's forgiven, Finnigan," she smiled and he grinned again. "I'm sorry too."

"Nah…you were right…you both were," he said.

Aurora read the _Daily Prophet_ as she ate. As she did so, she nearly spit up her food. 'Alfred…' she looked around the room and the staff table and saw that everyone was reading the _Prophet_. Minerva and the other teachers looked along the table at Aurora, who looked away quickly and continued to eat her food, though slowly.

She couldn't believe that her brother had escaped Azkaban, even though she shouldn't have been. She suddenly lost her appetite and left the table and then the Great Hall. She felt her children and their friends' eyes on her as she left. She walked all the way outside of the school, desperately needing fresh air.

She stopped in the courtyard, closed her eyes and took in a deep, icy breath as she placed her hands on her hips. 'This can't be happening…'

"Aurora?"

She cracked an eye open marginally and looked out of the corner of it at Severus. "Yes?"

"Are you alright?"

"Have you read the_ Prophet _today, Sev?"

"No…why?"

"Alfred, Bellatrix, and nine others escaped Azkaban last night," she told him, her eyes closed again.

"Are you serious?"

"No, I'm joking," she said sarcastically and then turned to him, exasperated. "Of course I'm serious! Joking about a thing like that at a time like this would be terrible."

"Calm down," he said coolly as he stopped at her side. She huffed and turned away from him, placing a shaky hand on her forehead.

"How can this happen, Sev? It shouldn't ever happen…"

"You know that the Dark Lord is back and you know that he'll do anything to defeat us," Severus said. "You shouldn't be so surprised."

"Mmmm…perhaps…It still worries me though."

"As does it for the rest of us…" There was a pause between them then as they both looked out at the horizon.

"How are your Occlumency lessons with Harry going?" she asked suddenly and Severus sighed in annoyance.

"The silly little prat refuses to learn…" Severus sneered and Aurora glanced at him with an arched eye brow.

"That is my godson, you know…"

"I know, but he's difficult."

"No, he's not. You just don't know how to adapt to him. Or rather, you refuse to because of who his father is. You've been cruel to him since you first laid eyes on him, Sev, and he doesn't take that lightly. He doesn't like you because you refuse to like him…He's a good and respectful kid but you are blind to it with your hate for James…" she scolded him and he scowled and looked away from her. 'I just wish that your love for Lily would make you see reason…' she thought to herself and then looked out at the horizon. "Dark days are approaching fast, Severus…Harry needs to be prepared. Help him. Get over yourself a little bit and help him." She patted his arm lightly before walking back towards the school, leaving him alone outside.

* * *

One week, while in Hogsmeade, Hermione led Harry, Annalisa, and Ron off to the Three Broomsticks for some Butterbeer. When they entered it, Annalisa spotted Rita Skeeter.

"No, not her again," she whined and Hermione made a beeline for the gossip writer.

"Remember our deal, Skeeter," Hermione warned as they all sat down with Rita.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…Now, shall we begin?" Rita asked. Harry and Annalisa looked at Ron, Hermione, and Rita in confusion.

"Begin what?" Harry asked.

"You haven't even told them? Should I leave?" Rita sneered at Hermione, who sent her a glare.

"Look, we all don't like each other but I've made a deal with Rita. She writes your story for the _Quibbler_ without a QuikQuotesQuill. I've talked to Luna about it already and she spoke with her father and he gave us the go-ahead. Will you both do it?" Hermione explained and Annalisa and Harry glanced at one another, making a silent agreement, before nodding to Rita and Hermione.

"Why the _Quibbler_, again?" Rita asked as she pulled a notepad and regular quill out of her green dragon skin purse.

"Because the _Daily Prophet_ will fire you for giving it to them," Hermione said and Rita shrugged.

"Well, let's get on with it then…Please begin wherever you like," Rita told Harry and Annalisa in a bored tone.

Annalisa began, explaining and going into detail what happened that night. Harry added in his point of view and then took over when Annalisa said that she had been knocked out for a few moments and then they finished together, talking about their return to Hogwarts and Harry's capture by Crouch Jr. Rita seemed riveted and when she was done, Hermione took the papers from her and folded them up, sliding them into her coat pocket. Rita took a quick picture of Harry and Annalisa as they sat there, side-by-side, looking determined yet sad. She handed the picture to Hermione who slipped it into coat pocket with the story.

"You're going to keep your end of the bargain, right?" Rita asked Hermione skeptically.

"Yes," Hermione said and Rita smiled sweetly before leaving. "I'm going to go get these out to Luna, later. I plan on going at night, so no one will be up. Harry, can I borrow your Invisibility Cloak?"

"Yeah, sure," Harry said and they all relaxed and had some Butterbeer.

* * *

Ok so here's another chapter. To anyone who reviewed: thank you! I don't really have time to go through a lot right now. Finals are here and I need to study for the one I have tomorrow. I hope you like this chapter. Please review. -Siriusgrl88

Sirius is such a dog XD No pun intended.


	14. Trouble

Ok, here goes. Disclaimer: Annalisa Dairine Black, Aurora Clementine Badeau, Conri Carmine Black, Rupert Severus Badeau (Lupin-Snape), Aberto Adriano Badeau, Alicia Doireann Badeau (nee Riddle), Timothy Durante Badeau, Alfred Cillain Badeau, Holly Caoimhe Badeau, Nicola Sorcha Badeau, Italia Isla Badeau, Thekla Sophia Badeau (nee Metaxas), Maximus Eligio Badeau, Alexander Fidel Badeau, Massimo Cillian Badeau, Dolores Maria Badeau (nee DaSilva), anyone else mentioned in my fanfics that aren't in Jo's books are (C) me :)

Pippa Nicole Lupin-LaVigne (C) Ashley :)

Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Fred and George Weasley, and anyone else whom you recognize from the books are (C) Jo Rowling. I'm sorry that it's so short but she has a lot of characters and so do I so if I listed them all, it would take up about half a page.

Enjoy and review!

* * *

Two days later, Harry and Annalisa were bombarded with owls who delivered loads of letters, nine plain wrapped copies of the _Quibbler_ with their story, and two specially packed _Quibbler_s with their story. Annalisa smiled as she looked at the picture of her and Harry on the front cover, both with their arms crossed on the table; they looked solemn and had a sad yet determined look in their eyes. On the left side, on Harry's upper arm, it read in bold red colors:

**HARRY POTTER AND ANNALISA BLACK SPEAK OUT AT LAST: THE TRUTH ABOUT YOU-KNOW-WHO AND THE NIGHT WE WITNESSED HIS RETURN**.

"Do you like it? Daddy's really proud of it. He added some pictures that I gave to him of Cedric and the two of you and Dumbledore, of course. Don't worry, none of the pictures are from the meetings," Luna whispered the last part to Harry and Annalisa as she sat down with them all.

Hermione, Ron, Fred, George, Luna, Neville, Ginny, Conri, and Rupert all helped Harry and Annalisa go through the mail that they got from the magazine and they each got a special edition _Quibbler_.

"This guy thinks you're a nutter…" Conri told his sister and he placed it to the side. He opened another one and grinned. "But not this guy! He says 'you're a beautiful young lady' and that 'two teenagers couldn't come up with something like this.'"

"This woman here says 'thank you for being so honest. It must have been hard talking about Cedric Diggory's death and your near deaths. You're amazing young adults and I believe you,'" Rupert added with a large grin on his face.

"Here's one that says you don't come off as nutters but he doesn't really want to believe that You-Know-Who is back…Crikey, that's a waste of ink," Fred said.

"This one says she believes us!" Harry said excitedly and showed Annalisa. Annalisa grinned and opened one of her own letters.

"'_Dear Annalisa and Harry, your story is so vivid in detail and so honest that my husband and I now believe you. You're both so unrelenting and determined that it has to be the truth. Not-to-mention that your story hasn't wavered once_,'" Annalisa read aloud, grinning. "How sweet…"

"'_Having read your side, I am forced to acknowledge that the _Daily Prophet_ has treated you unfairly. Even though I don't want He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named to be back, I have to say that I believe you_,'" Hermione read happily.

"This one says that she thinks you're a real hero, Harry…She even sent a picture," Ron said and handed Harry the picture. Harry laughed with excitement at the positive feedback that they were getting.

"Her brother sent one in for Annalisa," Fred said as he handed her a picture of a young man who resembled the young woman slightly. George frowned and took the picture from her. She smiled and patted his shoulder gently.

"What's going on over here?" Umbridge asked as she approached their part of the Gryffindor table.

"Opening letters and reading them…is that a crime too now?" George asked.

"Watch yourself, Mr. Weasley," Dolores warned. "Well, Potter-- Black?"

"Just what George said: we're opening letters that we got from an interview we gave," Annalisa told her smugly. "About what happened to us last June."

"Who would want to interview two teenagers?" Dolores asked and Harry and Annalisa shrugged.

"The person who interviewed us; we were sworn to secrecy, so we can't tell you," Annalisa informed her.

"Here's a copy if you'd like," Harry tossed a copy to Umbridge, who snatched it quickly and gazed down at the cover. She turned a nasty purplish tint as she read the cover.

"When, exactly, did you give this interview?"

"During the last Hogsmeade weekend," Harry answered truthfully. Dolores looked up at all of them and then focused on Harry and Annalisa.

"The both of you are banned from Hogsmeade…How dare you? How you could…" she stumbled and then regained herself. "I've tried to teach you both to not tell lies but obviously the message still hasn't sunk in. Fifty points each from Gryffindor for your insufferable attitudes and a week's worth of detention for your continuous lies." With that, she stormed off. Annalisa and Harry shrugged and ignored it. Annalisa looked over at her mother, who sat at the staff table. Aurora was engrossed in the pages of the _Quibbler_.

* * *

It wasn't a day later when Umbridge came out with yet another educational decree that banned the _Quibbler_ from school. If any student were caught with it, they would be expelled.

"That's a bit harsh," Annalisa said but Hermione was grinning.

"Why are you so happy? This isn't good," Harry said to Hermione but Hermione shook her head.

"You're wrong…this is very good!" she disagreed.

"She's gone and lost it," Ron muttered but Hermione went on, ignoring his statement.

"By telling the students that they can't read the _Quibbler_ ensures that they _will_ read it," she explained and it made sense to the others who had gathered round the Decree wall. And she was very right. Over the next two weeks, Annalisa and Harry had been asked by over half of the students to sign their edition of the _Quibbler_. Harry and Annalisa did humbly, smiling; not a single Slytherin asked for their autographs though, which was no surprise. Draco and his goons were furious with Harry and Annalisa because they had named their fathers in the magazine but there was nothing they could do without giving everything away.

* * *

"Make sure it's a really powerful, happy memory. Let it fill your every fiber," Harry said to the group inside the Room of Requirement as they began to practice making corporeal Patronuses. Annalisa walked about the room, taking pictures with her new camera that her parents got her for Christmas. "What if someone outside of our meetings gets a hold of your camera, Annie?" Harry asked worriedly.

"Don't worry, Harry. I bewitched the camera and the film inside to only show me the photos until developed. I have a safe word that no one else knows. When I say the safe word, the film strip will show the pictures. If anyone tries to get my camera to open, it won't work because I've put charms all over it. If they do open the camera without the safeword, the film will disappear and go to a safe place that no one knows but me. Everything is safe, Harry, I promise," she explained and he seemed relieved as he walked away.

"Annalisa, why don't you show them your Patronus?" Harry asked a few minutes later as some of the students were struggling with the charm.

Annalisa pulled her wand out of the waistband of her bell-bottom jeans and held it out in front of her. She thought back to her third year, when Harry, Annalisa, and Hermione helped Sirius escape Azkaban for a second time. She smiled. "_Expecto Patronum_!" A silvery mass slid out of her wand tip and it took the form of a large dog, which barked loudly and then ran around in circles, chasing its tail. The others laughed and watched in amazement. "A full bodied Patronus, like mine and Harry's, is the hardest Patronus to produce. For many, it's just a silvery mass. It's more difficult to produce one when you're battling against something instead of just doing it for fun," Annalisa explained as she had her Patronus walk around the room, yipping and bounding happily. "But regardless, both forms can be useful against a variety of opponents."

Ginny produced a horse that galloped around, neighing, and Annalisa grinned while other students tried to produce their own Patronuses again. Hermione got an otter to swim out from her wand. "Brilliant, Hermione! Great work, Ginny!" Annalisa congratulated them both as they grinned and laughed happily.

"Just remember that your Patronus only lasts for as long as you're focused," Harry went on as he walked around the room. "Focus, Luna," he encouraged and Luna tried again, this time producing a rabbit.

"Fantastic, Luna!" Annalisa said as her dog barked. Ron's dog ran between Neville's legs knocking him over in doing so.

"Sorry, Neville!" Ron apologized as his dog ran to Annalisa's dog.

"Good job, Ron," she said as she helped Neville back up and Ron gave her a crooked smile.

"George, focus," Annalisa said to her boyfriend as he struggled. He nodded and closed his eyes before trying again, this time producing a capuchin monkey. Annalisa laughed and squeezed George's arm. "What memory did you think of?" she asked and he smiled.

"Our first kiss," he answered truthfully and Annalisa looked up at him in slight surprise. He just smiled down at her. "What was your memory?"

She was about to answer when there was a sudden bang on one of the walls. Her smile slowly faded away along with her Patronus dog and everyone else slowly started to notice that there were more, deliberate bangs on the wall and then the other Patronuses began to vanish. The students came together, looking quizzically at the glass covered wall that the banging was originating from.

The glass began to crack and suddenly, the panes fell from the wall, shattering as soon as they hit the floor. There was a small hole beginning to form in the middle of the offended rock wall. Many of the students around Annalisa began to raise their wands, everyone breathing deeply with anticipation. Nigel approached the hole in the wall to look through it and there was a muffled sound coming from it. Harry pushed Nigel out of the way slightly to peer into the hole himself. Then he and Nigel were running from the wall, which exploded with a loud bang mere seconds afterwards. The students all ducked down, crying out in shock, trying to protect themselves from the flying debris. When the dust and sediment began to settle, they stood back up, squinting to try and see through the clouds of powdered rock.

Where the little hole had been was now a great gaping doorway and through it, they could see Umbridge, Filch, Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Nott, Parkinson, Bulstrode, and some other Slytherins. Malfoy pulled a girl with him. She looked frightened as she covered her face. It was Marietta Edgecombe, Cho Chang's best friend and fellow Ravenclaw. They all just stood there, staring back at each other before Umbridge smirked. Annalisa quickly and discreetly shrank her camera behind George so the offenders couldn't see. She then slipped it onto her charm bracelet that Hagrid had gotten her years ago. It was so small that it looked as if it was merely a charm for the bracelet.

"Get them!" Umbridge said before she and her inquisitorial squad came in and herded the rebels away. Annalisa glanced disappointedly at Hermione, who looked just as upset about being caught. Harry stared straight ahead, not looking at anyone, especially Cho.

Most of the group was taken in a different direction as Harry, Annalisa, and Marietta were yanked in the direction that Umbridge now took. Annalisa and Harry quickly realized that they were being led to the Headmaster's office. When they got there, Fudge, Kingsley, Percy Weasley, and Dawlish were there, waiting for them with Dumbledore.

"I have been watching this group for weeks, this '_Dumbledore's Army_'…" she held up the piece of parchment that had every member's name on it. At the top of the piece of paper, the words '_Dumbledore's Army_' were scrawled. Annalisa, Harry, and Marietta were pulled into the room behind Dolores. Percy was leading the three teens into the room. "It's proof that what I've been telling you is indeed the truth, Cornelius…" she looked at Dumbledore a bit angrily. "All of your silly fear-mongering about the Dark Lord never fooled any of us for one minute! We saw your tales for what they were: a smokescreen for you to start an army to take over the Ministry!"

"Naturally," Dumbledore replied simply.

"No! It has nothing to do with him! Harry and I came up with it on our own," Annalisa objected, looking straight at Fudge.

"She's right. It was us…it had nothing to do with him," Harry agreed.

"Most noble of the both of you," Dumbledore spoke to them, "to try and protect me, but the parchment does say '_Dumbledore's Army_' not '_Potter's and Black's Army_'. I instructed the two of them to start this secret society and I alone am responsible for its lessons."

"Dispatch an owl to the _Daily Prophet_ right away!" Fudge exclaimed. "If we're quick enough, this should still make the morning edition. Dawlish, Shacklebolt…do escort Dumbledore from the school to Azkaban. There, you will await trial for conspiracy and treason," Fudge said the last part to Dumbledore.

Annalisa and Harry watched on in mortification, helpless to do anything without their wands, which had been taken from them.

"Oh, I thought that we might hit this little snag in your plan," Dumbledore said. "You seem to think that I will go…what's the phrase? Ah yes, _quietly_. But I can tell you this, Cornelius: I have absolutely no intention of going to Azkaban."

"Enough of this, you old fool!" Umbridge hissed. "Take him!"

Dawlish and Shacklebolt made a move for Dumbledore, but just then, Fawkes, Dumbledore's trusted Phoenix, flew towards Dumbledore with a squawk. Dumbledore clapped his hands over his head just as Fawkes centered over him and, with a loud bang and warm wave of red-orange light, Dumbledore and his pet vanished. Dolores, Fudge, Dawlish, Shacklebolt, Percy, and Marietta were knocked over. Harry and Annalisa still stood, having looked away when it all happened. They looked back to where Dumbledore once stood and then looked at one another. They both knew that this was both a good thing and a bad thing.

"Well…" Shacklebolt began, "you might not care for him, Minister, but you can't deny that Dumbledore's got style…"

* * *

The next day, a crowd gathered as Filch put up yet another Educational Decree on the outside wall of Umbridge's classroom.

Annalisa used a charm to help her see what it said since it loomed far over head. "'_Educational Decree Number 119: High Inquisitor Dolores Jane Umbridge has replaced Albus Dumbledore as Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…as approved by Minister of Magic, Cornelius Oswald Fudge_,'" she read aloud to the crowd and then removed the charm from her eyes. "She's now literally running the school," she said gloomily to her friends.

Suddenly, Dolores' sugary sweet, gratingly annoying voice echoed around the school. "_As your new headmistress, I have some new rules to inform you of…ehm…Boys and girls are prohibited to be within eight inches of one another_." At this, every couple in the school gaped at their current boyfriend/girlfriend, including George and Annalisa.

"_Those who wish to join the Inquisitorial Squad may do so now for extra credit. Any student suspected of illicit activities will be submitted to questioning and if found guilty, will have detention for at least three nights in a row. Any student in noncompliance will be expelled from Hogwarts and escorted home…_"

She continued on but many students droned her out. The next week, everyone who was in the D.A., except for Marietta, was submitted to detention. Dolores used her normal methods, having given everyone a 'special' quill. Annalisa felt the familiar sting as she wrote. She tried not to show any signs of pain, but after the twentieth line of '_I will not disobey school rules_', she could no longer stop from hissing and wincing in pain. After about an hour of writing bloody lines, Umbridge released them and they all hurried away, babying their offended hands.

"Harry, can we talk?" Cho asked Harry as they walked out.

"What's there to talk about?" he asked icily. Hermione, Ron, Fred, George, and Annalisa waited for Harry on the stairs, watching the exchange.

"Marietta didn't mean to give us away," she began and Harry scoffed.

"Have you seen her face? She gave us up without a second thought," Harry argued, referring to the fact that Hermione's hex on the paper that the whole group signed would give whoever gave them up a nasty case of acne that spelt out '_**SNEAK**_'.

"Well, that was a mean trick that your friend put on that paper!" Cho snapped in annoyance, sending Hermione a dirty look.

"I'm glad she did because now I know who I can trust…" Harry snapped back and Cho blinked back tears before running off, sobbing. Harry joined his friends and they hurried up towards Gryffindor tower, not saying a word about Cho.

"You've done everything you could, mate," Ron began to console Harry the two, plus Hermione and Annalisa, walked through a misty day on the grounds. "No one can win against that puffed up hag."

"Dumbledore didn't even see this coming, Harry," Annalisa said as they stopped on the bridge that linked the school with a higher hill. Annalisa fixed her Gryffindor scarf and plunged her hands back into her sweater pockets.

"Besides, if it's anyone's fault, it's ours. Ron and I convince you both to do this…" Hermione added.

"Yeah, we're the ones who talked you into it," Ron agreed.

"But we agreed," Annalisa argued.

"I tried as hard as I could to help out and all it's gone and done is make things so much worse…It doesn't matter anymore, though, because I refuse to play anymore," Harry said as he looked out at the misty horizon, his back to them. "All it's done is make me care too much. And the more you care, the more you stand to lose. So I suppose it's better to…"

"To what, Harry?" Annalisa asked as she leaned up against the railing to the covered bridge, looking at his profile. He refused to meet her eyes.

"To do this alone," he answered. Before Hermione, Ron, or Annalisa could tell him differently, they heard a 'psst' coming from the end of the bridge. They looked down it and saw Hagrid, who was trying to hide s lightly. The four teens went to Hagrid, looking up at him curiously.

"I've got somethin' I want ter show yeh," he said and he beckoned them to follow him as he walked away from the bridge. Without a second thought, they followed silently. He led them down pass his hut and all the way into the Forbidden Forest. They stayed as close as possible to one another and to Hagrid as they carefully picked their way through the dark forest.

"Do you have any idea where he's leading us?" Ron asked Annalisa but she just shrugged.

"Hagrid, why don't you just tell us?" Harry asked. But before Hagrid could answer, they felt rumbling beneath their feet and they heard yelling and horse sounds. Then they saw the centaurs galloping through the forest, angry and vicious. The centaurs didn't see them and Annalisa relaxed once they passed.

"I haven't seen the centaurs so riled up before and they're very dangerous most of the time. If the Minister keeps restricting their territories anymore, he'll have a full centaur uprising on his hands. And not only them…the goblins are good friends with the centaurs and if the goblins fight back with the centaurs, there's going to be a lot of trouble, mark my words," Hagrid said to them.

"What's happening, Hagrid?" Hermione asked, sounding nervous and afraid.

"I'm sorry to be so mysterious, I really am. I wouldn't be bothering any of yeh at all but now that Dumbledore's gone and I'm most likely on me way out, I had to tell someone about him…"

Just as Annalisa was about to ask who, a shaking thud sounded from in front of them. Annalisa looked up just as Harry, Hermione, and Ron did. Their mouths dropped open and their eyes widened as they stared up at a giant. "Grawpy, over here," Hagrid said and the giant twirled around, watching birds fly around his head. The birds dived and flew right over Annalisa's, Ron's, Hermione's, and Harry's heads. The four ducked down low just in time as 'Grawpy' tried to catch the birds in his hands, clapping them loudly over the crouching teens. "Oooooh, Grawpy, don't do that," Hagrid scolded. "I've brought you some company, Grawp. These are my friends."

Grawp suddenly ran forward, looking at the four teens like they were dolls. He shoved Hagrid aside as he ran towards them. Annalisa, Hermione, Ron, and Harry ran backwards, clinging to each other. But suddenly, Grawp stopped, looking as if something invisible had yanked him back. He looked back and gently tugged on a thick rope that bounded him to a very large tree. "I couldn't leave him there…The bigger male giants were beating him up…plus, he's…he's my brother," Hagrid explained and the teens looked at him in surprise. "Half brother, really; me mother left me father when I was just a babe…she ran off and had Grawp with another giant a few years later. He's not very old and he's completely harmless! He's just a bit high-spirited."

"High-spirited? Just a bit?" Annalisa asked a bit sarcastically, her heart pounding in her chest. Grawp was watching them intensely and then he reached forward when Hermione tripped up on a root, her hands grabbing Annalisa's arm, making Annalisa stumble.

Grawp grabbed Hermione, who screamed. Annalisa's eyes widened as she watched the ground slowly get farther and farther away from her feet until she was dangling about six feet in the air. Grawp looked at Hermione with a large, goofy grin.

Annalisa looked up at him, her eyes wide as she dangled by her wrist; Hermione still hadn't let go of her.

"Hagrid, do something!" Ron whined as he and Harry watched on in horror.

"Grawp! That's rude! Put 'em down!" Hagrid ordered. "We've talked about this, Grawpy. Yeh don't grab, do yeh? Those are your brand new friends, Hermione and Annalisa."

"Ermineee and Nnnaaaleesssaaa…" Grawp butchered the two girls' names; he lifted Hermione up higher so he could scrutinize the dangling Annalisa, who he left dangling now 9 feet in the air. Hermione and Annalisa glanced at each other nervously as Ron hit Grawp in the leg with a fallen tree branch, which shattered. Grawp gently kicked Ron out of the way, sending Ron tumbling to the ground.

"Grawp!" Hermione yelled and Grawp looked at her, blinking his large eyes.

"Put us down…" Annalisa and Hermione said together in a mothering-scolding tone, their fingers pointed at his face, though it was a bit hard for Annalisa as she was still dangling from Hermione's other hand. "Now." And, to the teens' amazement, he obeyed and gently placed Annalisa and Hermione on their feet. The two girls stepped back to Ron and Harry, their eyes on Grawp still.

"Are you ok?" Ron whispered to Hermione.

"Fine…" Hermione answered.

"Why didn't you just jump down?" Ron asked Annalisa.

"You try dangling from six feet in the air and then tell me if you would be able to just jump…Plus, Hermione wouldn't let my wrist go," Annalisa said.

"All he needs is a firm, mother-like hand, that's all," Hermione added.

"I think he admires you both," Harry said as Grawp came back to them, handing Hermione the handle bars of a bike, complete with a bell, and Annalisa a slightly damaged pot. He had rang the bell on the handle bars and banged the pot before he gave them to the girls and then he waited, watching them expectantly. Hermione rang the bell and Annalisa used her knuckles to bang once on the pot. He smiled and the girls handed the items back to him. He sat down, making the earth shake a bit and played with his toys.

"He's good at getting his own food and taking care of himself," Hagrid explained. "He just needs some company when I'm gone. You'll come and visit him, won't you?"

Harry and Ron nodded a bit reluctantly but Hermione and Annalisa smiled. "Of course we will, Hagrid," Annalisa and Hermione said simultaneously.

* * *

Another chapter. Almost done with part 3 now. No reviews last time. I guess I'll let it slide because that was around finals time and Christmas shopping and what not. I hope I get some reviews this time. Please review. -Siriusgrl88

P.S. I've moved yet again. Bigger place. This shouldn't effect me from posting anything because I have internet connection there. I'll be in Arkansas from December 28th to January 4th though so don't expect any updates that week. Ciao.


	15. Bigger Trouble

Ok, here goes. Disclaimer: Annalisa Dairine Black, Aurora Clementine Badeau, Conri Carmine Black, Rupert Severus Badeau (Lupin-Snape), Aberto Adriano Badeau, Alicia Doireann Badeau (nee Riddle), Timothy Durante Badeau, Alfred Cillain Badeau, Holly Caoimhe Badeau, Nicola Sorcha Badeau, Italia Isla Badeau, Thekla Sophia Badeau (nee Metaxas), Maximus Eligio Badeau, Alexander Fidel Badeau, Massimo Cillian Badeau, Dolores Maria Badeau (nee DaSilva), anyone else mentioned in my fanfics that aren't in Jo's books are (C) me :)

Pippa Nicole Lupin-LaVigne (C) Ashley :)

Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Fred and George Weasley, and anyone else whom you recognize from the books are (C) Jo Rowling. I'm sorry that it's so short but she has a lot of characters and so do I so if I listed them all, it would take up about half a page.

Enjoy and review!

* * *

Annalisa walked the halls one night while Harry was busy with an Occlumency meeting with Snape. Her boyfriend and Fred were somewhere out and about while Hermione helped Ron with an essay in the common room. She walked outside of the school and lazily sauntered about the courtyards. She heard faint crying coming from a bench not far from her and she craned her neck to see who was crying out in the courtyards at night. 'I hope it's not Cho…' and to her relief, it wasn't. Instead it was a small first year boy who was cradling his bleeding hand.

She frowned sadly and hurried over to him, kneeling down in front of him. "Let me see…" she whispered gently to him and he nodded, letting her take his hand. She sighed softly as she looked at the deep cuts on the back of his right hand; '_I must not call people names_.' "Why did she have you write lines?"

He sniffled before answering. "I called Draco Malfoy an ungrateful git but he's been picking on me for weeks…I just couldn't take it anymore," he said, his voice choking. Annalisa brushed the boy's light hair out of his eyes.

"You did the right thing by telling him off…but now is not the time, unfortunately. I'm sorry that this happened…"

Suddenly, Fred and George sat down with them, startling both the boy and Annalisa slightly. She relaxed and gave her boyfriend and his brother a sad smile.

"What's your name?" George asked the boy.

"Michael," the boy answered, still crying.

"Your hand will be fine after a while, Michael," Fred explained quietly.

"Yeah, look…" George showed Michael his own scarring hand. "It heals after a while. You can hardly see ours anymore and the pain will go away after a bit."

Michael nodded, still crying in pain. Annalisa began to pull out a vial of Dittany that she had begun to carry around with her after her many detentions with Dolores; Aurora had made the potion herself. But she stopped pulling it out suddenly; an 'ehm' broke up their little get-together. George and Fred stood up and Harry approached them all, his eyes on Umbridge. Annalisa stood as well but continued to hold Michael's hand. When Harry had arrived, she wasn't sure but didn't think much of it.

"As I've said once before, Mr. Potter, children who misbehave deserve to be punished," Dolores said to Harry as Fred and George flanked him. When she walked away, Annalisa kneeled back down to Michael and pulled her Dittany vial out.

"I'm just going to put a little bit on your hand, alright? It makes the pain go away and it heals it faster," Annalisa told the boy. He nodded and held out his hand, the wounded back facing her. She took the stopper out of the vial and let a few drips fall onto his skin. Then she gently spread the thick, clear substance over his skin with the pad of her thumb. The wounds on his hand began to close and soon, he was healed. He sniffled and wiped at his cheeks and nose as Annalisa smiled up at him. "See?"

"Thank you," he whispered and hugged her before he stood, thanked the twins, and left. Annalisa now stood by George's side, when Fred spoke.

"You know, George, I've always thought that our future lay outside Hogwarts and its academic achievements."

"I've been thinking the same thing, Fred," George responded, the two boys grinning mischievously. Annalisa looked up at her boyfriend, her brow furrowed.

"What are you two scheming now?" she asked and Fred just smiled at her. George didn't look at her though.

"I'll explain later," he said.

* * *

Later came the next day. Annalisa and Hermione were studying for their OWLs while Harry and Ron played a game of wizard chess when George walked over and gently took Annalisa's hand. She looked up at him in surprise, placed her Advanced Charms book down, and followed him when he pulled her over to the boys' staircase. He led her half way up them before he stopped and faced her.

"Ok…about last night…" George began and Annalisa waited. "Fred and I plan on leaving earlier than usual for our last year."

"What do you mean?" she asked, looking upset.

"Look, Fred and I know all we need to know to really establish our own business. We don't need fifteen OWLs and forty NEWTs to tell us that…"

"Get to the point, George," she said.

George sighed heavily, his shoulders sagging. "We plan on leaving the school for good tomorrow."

"Oh…" was all she said as she looked down and away from him, her eyes slowly filling with tears.

"Annie…I'm sorry…" he said sincerely and she smiled at him, despite her watery eyes.

"It was bound to happen eventually, right? I mean, it is your last year. I just thought that we would have…more time, that's all," she whispered, trying hard to keep from sobbing. He looked terribly guilty as he stood there helplessly.

"Annie please…I'm sorry…" he said again as he gently rubbed her arms. She took in a shaky breath and refused to look at him. "I love you…" At those three simple words, Annalisa's eyes snapped to his in alarm. He looked a bit surprised himself. "I…I love you," he repeated and they stood there for a few seconds, completely silent.

It was the first time he had ever said that to her and she knew that he said it sincerely. She practically lunged at him, crushing her lips to his as she wrapped her arms around his neck. His arms slowly wrapped around her and then pulled her up against him so he could deepen the kiss. Their lips moved against each other as they opened up to one another on a whole new level. They had snogged in the past, sure, but not like this. This time it was special and had a whole new meaning. It was desperate, loving, and passionate whereas, before, it had been hopeful, sweet, and innocent.

They only parted when they both needed air. They pulled their faces apart, panting heavily, their warm breaths mingling. Their eyes remained closed for a few moments before he opened his first. He watched her and studied her face. She was lost in emotion, her pink, slightly swollen lips parted so she could take in air; her beautiful grey eyes were closed and her black, thick lashes rested on her high cheek bones softly. She looked like a nymph, with her wavy black hair all a mess from his hands moving through them. Slowly, her lashes fluttered open and her big grey eyes locked with his.

"I love you too, George Weasley," she whispered to him and they both smiled.

"I'll wait for you," he told her as they embraced lovingly, her face pressed against his chest.

"Good," was all she said in return.

* * *

The next day, everyone was taking OWLs. They were sitting in Charms, doing their Theory of Charms OWL while Umbridge watched, a larger than life pendulum swinging from side to side behind her. Annalisa was hurriedly writing down everything she knew when a series of distant bangs occurred. The students began to become distracting as the banging continued, growing closer and closer. Umbridge walked from the front of the class to the back, opening the doors and walking out of them to look down the hall.

A little beam of sparkling light zipped in front of her and focused on her nose for a few seconds before zooming off into the classroom, where it exploded in a series of pops and fireworks. Annalisa grinned, knowing exactly who was up to this mischief. All of the students looked back at Umbridge, who looked at them and then down the hall again. Suddenly, the Weasley twins cam soaring into the room on their brooms, throwing fireworks and other loud devices into the air.

"Alright, Professor!?" Fred laughed. The twins wreaked havoc on the room as the students cheered and stood up to applaud them. Dolores came back into the room, thoroughly shocked to see anyone act so out of order. "Ready when you are, George!" Fred yelled to his brother, who held up a bigger firework. He lit it and threw it up into the air before the pair zoomed out of the way.

The firework exploded and a giant fiery dragon appeared, with snapping jaws. Dolores squealed and turned, running as fast as her stubby little legs would carry her while the dragon chased her. When she got out the doors, the dragon snapped its jaws on her. As it dispersed, it shot out little fireballs that broke every Educational Decree that hung on the wall outside of her room. Fred and George zoomed out of the room, laughing hysterically at her and the students followed, cheering and clapping.

For their last hoorah, the twins exploded a firework that took the shape of a 'W'. Annalisa waved and laughed as she watched the twins. George blew a kiss at her and a little red firework made its way to her, sparking and exploding lightly in front of her. A sparking, glittering heart floated in front of her. 'I love you' was scrawled in the middle of the heart with sparkling letters. She looked back up at him, grinned and blew him a kiss as well. The twins flew off quickly after that; the students and even the teachers were cheering them on.

As Annalisa turned to looked back at her friends, a large smile on her face, she noticed that Harry suddenly looked sick. He then began to fall and she rushed to his side, her smile gone. She stopped at his side, kneeling next to him.

"Harry, what's wrong?" she asked as Hermione kneeled down besides her.

"Sirius," was all Harry said and Annalisa paled terribly. Harry, Hermione, Annalisa, and Ron hurried away from the crowds, Harry leading.

"Harry, are you positive about this?" Hermione asked.

"It was just like the time when I saw Mr. Weasley getting attacked…it's the same door I've had dreams about all year. I just couldn't remember where I had seen it before…but now I know where it is! Sirius told us that Voldemort is after something he didn't have the last time, remember? I know where it's at. It's in the Department of Mysteries!" he explained urgently.

"Harry, please! Just listen to me!" Hermione begged and Harry stopped and looked at her. "What if he meant for you to see this? What if he's using Sirius to get to you?"

"So what if he is? Am I supposed to just stand here and let Sirius die? Hermione, Sirius and his family are the only family that I have left! Sirius is like a father to me!" Harry argued and Annalisa bit her lip to keep from crying. She was besides herself with worry for her father and hearing Harry say that made all of her emotions heighten tenfold.

"What do we do then, mate?" Ron asked.

"We'll need to use the Floo Network!" Harry said as they continued on their way.

"But that's impossible, Harry! Umbridge has all of Hogwarts' chimneys under surveillance," Hermione said.

"Not all of them," Annalisa said suddenly and she began to full out run towards Umbridge's office. Once they got there, Harry had to use 'Alohamora' to unlock the door. They entered the room, Ron closing the door behind him, and made their way to the fireplace.

"Tell the Order if you can," Harry said to them as they all crouched down in front of the hearth.

"You are a nutter! We're going with you, Harry," Ron protested.

"No, it's too dangerous," Harry argued.

"You can't expect me to sit here waiting for you to get to Dad, Harry. You have to remember that he's my dad too…Plus, I made a promise to you, Harry. The day we became friends, I unknowingly made a vow to be by your side through this no matter what happens," Annalisa argued back and Harry looked at her in a heartfelt way.

"When are you going to get it? We're in this together, Harry!" Hermione added.

"Oh yes you are," Dolores said from behind them and the four teens looked at her with wide eyes, looking like children who just got caught taking cookies from the cookie jar before dinner. Then, she, with the help of her squad, tied Harry up to a chair and held Hermione, Annalisa, and Ron hostage, taking all of their wands away. A few minutes later, Neville, Ginny, Conri, Rupert, and Luna were all dragged into the room as well, their wands gone too.

Dolores nodded at her little minions and then turned to Harry again, leaning down towards him so that her beady eyes were level with his. "You were going to go to Dumbledore, weren't you, Potter?"

"No," he said honestly and Dolores struck him hard. Annalisa, Ron, Hermione, Luna, Rupert, Neville, Conri, and Ginny all tried to get at her but to no avail due to their captors.

"Do not lie to me any longer, Mr. Potter!"

"You asked for me, Headmistress?" Severus asked as he entered the room, looking around a bit quizzically.

"Severus, good, you're here. It's time for answers, whether he wants to tell me them or not. Did you bring the Veritaserum with you?"

"No," Severus answered truthfully. "You used up the last of it with the interrogation of the students…Unless, you wish to poison him, which I would have the greatest sympathy if you decided to, I cannot help you."

Dolores looked outraged and Severus turned to leave when Annalisa shouted. "He's got Padfoot!"

Severus stopped and slowly turned to look back at her. Whether he knew what she was talking about, she had no idea for his face was as unreadable as his dark eyes. Dolores looked confused.

"At the place where it's hidden!" Harry added. Severus looked down at Harry now, his eyes and face still not conveying whether he understood or not.

"What is this Padfoot? Where what is hidden?" Dolores asked Snape but Snape looked at her cluelessly.

"I have absolutely no idea…" he said before he glanced back briefly at Harry and Annalisa and then left the room. Annalisa didn't know if this was his way of telling them that he understood or if he was merely as clueless as he looked.

"Very well then, Potter…you have given me no choice. Since this is an issue of the Ministry you leave me with no other way to get these secrets…The Cruciatus Curse should do it, I believe," she said.

"That's illegal!" Hermione and Annalisa objected.

"What the Minister doesn't know won't hurt him," was all Umbridge said before she approached Harry with her wand raised at him. Harry's friends fought against their captors but they couldn't get away from them. Just as Dolores was about to use the curse on him, Hermione spoke up.

"Tell her, Harry!"

Dolores stopped adruptly, looking over at Hermione, who looked panicked, and Harry, who looked dreadfully worried.

"Tell me what?" Dolores asked.

"If you don't tell her, I will!" Hermione went on, speaking to Harry. Annalisa looked at Hermione quizzically and the others exchanged nervous looks.

"Tell me what, you silly girl?" Dolores asked.

"Dumbledore's secret weapon," Hermione said, looking as if she gave away a secret she never intended to tell anyone about. Dolores smiled and Annalisa acted as if Hermione had done a devastating thing. 'If she's talking about what I think she's talking about…they'll be heading for the Forbidden Forest!' Annalisa thought, trying to look outraged at Hermione.

"Hermione, don't you dare!" Annalisa hissed, glaring at Hermione but Hermione was clever and knew what Annalisa was doing. She was trying to make it more believable.

"I'm sorry, but I have to do this," Hermione said sadly to Annalisa. Annalisa scowled and looked away from her, giving Ron a discreet, mischievous smile. He looked completely lost.

"I knew one of you would come around…" Dolores said as she untied Harry and beckoned for Hermione to lead the way. "You all stay here and watch these seven," she told her squad and they all tightened their holds on said students.

* * *

After a few long minutes of tense silence, Annalisa spotted some of Fred and George's snack boxes that Umbridge had confiscated. Slytherins having been oblivious to their creations, would have no idea what they would do to a person. Annalisa cleared her throat loudly, making everyone look at her curiously.

"Sorry, my throats a bit dry…" she said and rubbed her chin on her shoulder, her eyes locking with Ron's. It didn't take Ron long to notice that she was discreetly nodding towards his brothers' creations.

"Yeah, I'm a bit hungry actually…and look, she's got candy in here. May I have one?" Ron asked their captors.

"Piss off, Weasley," Malfoy sneered and Ron frowned. At Ron's sign of distress, Malfoy began to smirk, a brilliant idea coming to his mind. "I think I'll have a bit though. You all stay right there," he warned his hostages as he and his friends grabbed a box and began to eat the candies. Suddenly, Malfoy was gagging and then puking sick all over the room. Annalisa reacted instantly as Malfoy's friends all began to vomit as well. She grabbed up her wand and everyone else's before darting out of the room with Ron, Conri, Rupert, Luna, Neville, and Ginny hot on her heels.

They made it all the way out of the castle and down through the courtyards and halfway down a covered bridge before they met up with Harry and Hermione, who were running to them.

"How did all of you get out?" Hermione asked.

"Puking Pastilles! It wasn't very pretty though," Ginny explained.

Annalisa handed Harry and Hermione their wands as Ron explained what happened. "I told them that I was hungry and that the sweets looked tasty. They told me to piss off, of course, and the greedy bastards ate them themselves," he said a bit proudly.

"That was very clever, Ron," Hermione complimented and Ron looked smug.

"It's been known to happen," he said.

"It was really brilliant! They all started puking immediately and Annalisa grabbed the wands and ran. We followed her. Somehow she knew where you were going," Neville said.

"Great minds think alike," Annalisa said, grinning.

"How are we getting to London, by the way?" Rupert asked.

"I'm going alone. It's not that I'm not grateful for all you've done to help me, but I've gotten everyone in enough trouble as it is so…" Harry began and Conri rolled his eyes.

"You're an idiot, you know that?" Annalisa said, looking angry. "I told you once before, Harry, Sirius is my father too. You can't stop me or my brothers from going…you can't stop any of us from going."

"Wasn't Dumbledore's Army about doing something real?" Neville asked as Harry passed him. Harry stopped and looked back at them all. "Or was it all a bunch of meaningless words to you?"

"Harry, maybe you don't have to go it alone," Ron said.

"We're here," Rupert said and Harry looked at them all.

"So…how are we getting to London then?" he asked and Luna smiled.

"By flying, of course," Luna said dreamily and Annalisa grinned.

"Thestrals!" Annalisa said before running off in the direction of the Forbidden Forest.

* * *

Severus entered the Black house quickly and looked around the downstairs as fast as he could before he went upstairs and straight to Sirius' room. Without knocking, he entered the room and stopped dead in his tracks. Sirius yelped and Aurora squealed as they both ducked under the covers. Luckily, Severus didn't see any naked body parts, much to all of their relief.

"What in the bloody hell are you doing here, Snivellus!?" Sirius roared.

"Harry and the other children seem to think that the Dark Lord has you held captive at the Department of Mysteries, Black. I believe they're on their way there to rescue you," Severus said quickly.

"What?!" Aurora shrieked and wrapped a throw blanket around herself as she got out of Sirius' bed and padded over to her tossed about clothes. She dressed, with Sirius, quickly but as she was heading for the door, Sirius stopped her.

"Aurora, stay here," he pleaded and Aurora looked at him incredulously.

"Are you mad? I'm not staying here, Sirius! If Voldemort tricked them to get Harry there to get that damn prophecy, then I'm going! Our children are there!"

"I'll go and I'll get them, alright? Just stay here."

"No, I'm going," she argued.

"Aurora," he began but she cut him off.

"Don't you _Aurora_ me, Sirius Black," she hissed. "Those are _our_ children. I'm going."

"Aurora please, I beg you…stay here."

"Why?!"

"If we both go, we risk losing both of our lives…Our children need at least one of us alive. I'm choosing you; they've had you their whole lives and only had me for a couple of years. They'd be devastated if they lost you," he explained.

"They'd devastated to lose either one of us, Sirius! I'm going!"

"No, Aurora. You're not. You're going to stay here and wait until we get back," Sirius said sternly and Aurora glared at him.

"I'm going."

"No, you're not."

"Yes, I am."

"No."

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes, damn it!"

"No, damn it!"

"Sirius, I'm going!"

"You're staying here with the babies, Aurora!"

"No! Severus can watch the kids!"

At this, Severus made an annoyed, scornful sound but both Sirius and Aurora ignored him.

"You're staying here, Aurora, and that's final!"

"I'm not a damn child, Sirius! I'm going whether you like it or not!"

"You're staying!"

"I'm going!"

"You're staying!

"I'm goin---"

"You're both wasting time. Aurora, you are to stay here with me," Severus said and Aurora glared at the both of them before giving in grugingly. She hugged and kissed Sirius passionately and lovingly even though she was immensely annoyed with him.

"Damn you both, you pigheaded bullies! You better come back, damn it…or I'll kill you," she pouted as Sirius kissed her forehead.

"I'll come back, I promise," he said with a brief smile before he and Severus ran downstairs. As they got down there, Remus, Tonks, Moody, and Shacklebolt met them. Sirius, Remus, Tonks, Moody, and Shacklebolt began to leave, Aurora following them to the door.

"I love you, Sirius Black!" she called from the door as he stood in the front yard that was invisible to others unless they knew where 12 Grimmauld Place was and he grinned back at her.

"I love you, Aurora Black," he responded before he and the others disappeared quickly.

Aurora went into the dining room with Severus, worried and annoyed, to wait it out.

* * *

Aurora is one fiesty woman X3

So here's another chapter for you all. Sorry it's so late. I hope everyone had a great Christmas (if you celebrated it; if not, I hope you enjoyed whatever you did celebrate) and New Years!! I got the Dark Knight on DVD XD I so happy! I'm thinking about doing a Batman fanfic now XD We'll see. It depends on if I have the time to do that, plus this and the Las Vegas Baby fic too plus school and possibly work DX I'm gonna be really busy this semester. I'll try to keep this as updated as I can when I get into school. I won't make any concrete promises though, sorry.

Anywho, for those of you who reviewed/alerted, thanks for all of it! As for the whole Sirius canon thingy...well, you'll just have to find out in the next chapter XD I just hope my decision doesn't make any of my readers angry and pushes them to stop reading. I love reviews so please review! -Siriusgrl88


	16. Show Down at the Ministry

Ok, here goes. Disclaimer: Annalisa Dairine Black, Aurora Clementine Badeau, Conri Carmine Black, Rupert Severus Badeau (Lupin-Snape), Aberto Adriano Badeau, Alicia Doireann Badeau (nee Riddle), Timothy Durante Badeau, Alfred Cillain Badeau, Holly Caoimhe Badeau, Nicola Sorcha Badeau, Italia Isla Badeau, Thekla Sophia Badeau (nee Metaxas), Maximus Eligio Badeau, Alexander Fidel Badeau, Massimo Cillian Badeau, Dolores Maria Badeau (nee DaSilva), anyone else mentioned in my fanfics that aren't in Jo's books are (C) me :)

Pippa Nicole Lupin-LaVigne (C) Ashley :)

Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Fred and George Weasley, and anyone else whom you recognize from the books are (C) Jo Rowling. I'm sorry that it's so short but she has a lot of characters and so do I so if I listed them all, it would take up about half a page.

Enjoy and review!

* * *

Harry led the way through the Ministry after the nine of them arrived. Their wands were out as they ran to the elevators. They loaded into one and Harry pressed the button for the Department of Mysteries. The elevator moved backwards and then plummeted, making them all grab onto one another. When it finally arrived at their destination, the doors opened and they piled out of it, looking down the long, narrow black marble hallway.

"Well, this is it…let's go," Harry said and they all followed him down the hallway to the doorway that had been haunting his dreams for months. He opened it slowly and they walked into the room, looking around it. They were in complete darkness until Hermione and Annalisa lit their wands. Harry, Neville, Ginny, Ron, Luna, Conri, and Rupert all lit their wands as well as they proceeded through the room that seemed to have an endlessly tall ceiling and endlessly tall shelves that had many little silvery-blue orbs on them.

"What are these things?" Ginny whispered and Luna shrugged.

"They've got names attached to them," Conri said and Rupert picked one up.

"Rupert, put it away," Annalisa scolded and he sheepishly placed it back on its shelf. Harry was far ahead of them as he searched, counting aloud. They watched tensely when he stopped and looked around before looking back at them.

"This is where he was in my vision…But he's not here…" Harry said to them and Annalisa paled even more.

"This one has your name on it, Harry," Neville said as he looked up at an orb that was seated near the edge of a shelf just above Neville's head. Harry walked to Neville and slowly reached up to take the glass orb in his hand. He looked at it for a few seconds, completely enthralled with it.

"_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power that the Dark Lord knows not…and either must die at the hands of the other for neither can live while the other survives…the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…_" Trelawney's mystical voice said as Harry gazed down at the orb. Annalisa had a very bad feeling about this. It feeled like a trap. Her father was supposed to be here, but he wasn't; and then Rupert found a prophecy with Harry's name on it. Maybe Hermione had been right...Maybe Voldemort had meant for Harry to dream that Sirius was here...but just to get him here so the Death Eaters could get the prophecy?

The others watched him tentatively as they listened until Rupert noticed something move out of the corner of his eye. He faced it, his wand pointed at the figure that approached them slowly.

"Harry!" Rupert called and Harry made his way to the front of his friends, his wand raised at the intruder.

"Where are you keeping Sirius?" Harry asked the figure.

"You should really know the difference between dreams…" the figure waved his wand in front of his silvery mask. "And reality," he finished as he stopped in front of them, his mask gone.

Annalisa felt as if someone had opened her mouth and dropped a large stone down her throat. She suddenly felt quite uneasy and sick. "It was a trick…" she mumbled, looking a bit horrified.

"Malfoy," Conri spat and Lucius sent him a cold glare.

"You saw exactly what the Dark Lord wanted you to see, Potter. Now, hand over the prophecy and maybe some of you won't get hurt," Lucius went on, looking back at Harry.

"If you try to do anything to harm us, I'll break it," Harry snarled.

A sharp, feminine cackle came from a figure approaching them from behind Lucius. Lucius turned slightly at her laughter. "This one knows how to play," she said as she stopped at Lucius' side. "Itty, bitty baby Potter."

"Bellatrix Lestrange," Neville growled and Bellatrix's cold, hard dark eyes darted to him.

"Neville Longbottom! Oh, how wonderful to see you…How's your mum and dad?" she asked tauntingly.

"Better now that I'm going to avenge them!" Neville said angrily, taking a step forward and pointing his wand at her face. Harry, Ron, and Rupert held him back as Hermione gasped sharply. Bellatrix was holding her wand up at Neville as well and Lucius put his hands up in a calming motion.

"Let's not get hasty, Bellatrix…let's everyone calm down…" he said. "All we want is the prophecy."

"Why did Voldemort need me to come and get it? Why couldn't he just get it himself?" Harry snapped.

"You _dare_ speak his name!? FILTHY HALFBLOOD!" Bellatrix yelled at Harry. Lucius tried to calm her and held her back from striking Harry.

"It's alright, Bellatrix. He's just curious, that's all. Right, Potter? Only those that a prophecy speaks of are allowed to take it," he explained as he slowly continued to approach them.

Annalisa noticed that other Death Eaters had arrived and she raised her wand at one that was coming from her right. Hermione pointed her wand at the figure besides the one that Annalisa was watching when Annalisa turned and placed her back against Hermione's. Death Eaters were coming from every side, at least two at every side. Annalisa kept her wand steady on the man who had been originally on her right but was now on her left due to her change in stance.

"You're lucky, really, Potter. Haven't you always wondered why you have a connection with the Dark Lord? Why he failed to kill you as a mere infant? Haven't you ever wanted to know the secret about your scar? All of the answers are in that orb, Potter. All you have to do is hand it over to me and I can show you everything in it," Lucius went on and Harry looked tempted.

"I've waited for fourteen years…" Harry began.

"I know," Lucius said in an understanding tone. "Such a long time to wait for all the answers swarming in your mind, isn't it?"

"I guess I could wait a bit longer. Now!" Harry bellowed and they all reacted at once.

"_Stupefy_!" they all shouted simultaneously.

Then they were running for their lives. They turned too many corners for Annalisa to count but were stopped by Lucius in one aisle. They dodged him and ran down a different path. Suddenly, Annalisa was alone. She looked around wildly for Harry or one of the others but she didn't see any of them. When had she been separated from them? Was it just her that got separated? Then a Death Eater appeared at her side and she screamed before he hit her. She hit a shelf and then crumbled to the floor. She could taste blood in her mouth and felt some trickle down her forehead from her hair but she didn't move. She pretended to be unconscious and when the Death Eater raised his wand to attack her while she was down, she rolled onto her back and yelled the first spell she could think of.

"_Stupefy_!" she hit him square in the chest with the spell and he toppled backwards, hitting a shelf on the way down. She got up as soon as she could and turned down a different aisle. Her hand wildly wiping the blood from her chin, lips, and forehead. Her head was hurting; it felt like someone had taken a brick and smashed it into her skull as hard as they could. These Death Eaters weren't playing fair. But what had she really expected from them?

Yet another Death Eater stopped her in her path, grabbing her by her hair and crushing her up against a shelf. She grunted in pain and gritted her teeth as the Death Eater pushed her hard into the shelf.

"Squeal, little girl…I do like to hear little girls squeal," the man breathed in her ear and she struggled against him, not letting any form of girly sound leave her lips. She stopped struggling suddenly and tapped his feet with hers gently. He thought it was a form of fatigue when really, she was trying to figure out how far apart his legs were and how far from her he was. Then she lifted her leg, bringing it up swiftly into his groin. He yelped in pain and she shoved him away from her before she ran off down another aisle.

As she ran, she could hear the others battling the Death Eaters. Then she ran into someone and she looked up at her brother Rupert. She relaxed slightly and then looked around. They were all here, alive and in one piece though all of them were a bit bloody and sweaty. Then they all turned to see a Death Eater coming from their left side. Ginny stepped forward.

"_Reducto_!" she yelled and a blast occurred when it hit a target that was what seemed like miles away from them. The blast caused the orbs from falling off of their tall shelves, crashing hard against the marble floor. Wisps of smokey nothing wafted up from the floor but it didn't effect any of them.

"Damn, Ginny," Annalisa whispered as they all backed away from the aisle.

"Get back to the door, now!" Harry yelled at them all. They all swung around and ran as fast as they could back to the door. The shelves were falling over now and orbs were flying everywhere. Some orbs hit them as they went, the shelves falling over faster and faster, causing a huge kind of domino effect. They got to the door just as a shelf close to them began to fall and Harry yanked it open.

He ran over the threshold, the only problem was that when they all ran over the threshold, their feet never touched a floor. Instead they fell quickly down towards a floor that was yards beneath them. Annalisa closed her eyes, waiting for a painful impact when she was stopped quite suddenly in midair. She cracked an eye open and then looked around at her companions. They were all suspended above the floor by mere inches and then, just as they had stopped, they hit the ground quite suddenly.

Annalisa groaned with the others as they all stood up and looked around an empty room with a small, rocky mound in the middle of it. On top of the small mound was an archway with a softly billowing sheer looking veil. Annalisa, Harry, and Luna approached it, looking intrigued and entranced by it. Harry still gripped the orb in his hand.

"Do you all hear those voices?" he asked as he stepped closer to the arch.

"What voices, Harry?" Ron asked.

"There aren't any voices…let's go quickly, Harry," Hermione pleaded.

"I hear them too though…" Annalisa admitted as she stared up at the creepy arch.

"So do I," Luna said distantly.

"It's just an empty archway, you three," Hermione argued. "Come on, let's go."

Then Harry turned, his wand raised up in the air. "Get behind me now!" he ordered and the other eight did as told. They all raised their wands above their heads just before a swarm of black engulfed them.

Annalisa couldn't see anything as she sank to her knees, jabbing her wand at anyone who attacked her. Suddenly she was grabbed and pulled away from everyone else. She struggled against her captor vigorously but to no avail; his hold on her sweater was unrelenting. She looked up at the man who had a hold of her, his wand pointed at her head.

He was tall and pale, his face gaunt and covered with a wavy black and grey beard. His hair matched his beard; long wavy black hair with strands of silver. His blue eyes, that were a few shades darker than Aurora's, were watching Harry and Lucius intently. Annalisa noticed that he looked like a mix between a picture that Aurora had of Aberto Badeau and the young Tom Riddle. He was pale, leanly muscular, with a stubborn jaw and straight nose. This was her uncle. Annalisa struggled even more but he twisted the skin of her arm painfully to make her stop.

Annalisa looked around and saw that everyone else was being held with a wand against their head as well, except for Harry. Harry stood on the mound, his back facing the archway as a chuckling Lucius approached him slowly.

"Did you really think that mere children stood a chance against us?" Lucius said, his cane tapping on the rock.

"Get away from Harry!" Annalisa yelled, struggling against her uncle. Alfred pressed his foot into her spine and pushed while holding her head against him. Annalisa winced but bit her cheeks to keep from screaming.

"You will not speak unless spoken to," Alfred hissed at her.

"I'll make this easy for you, boy…" Lucius said as he held out his hand. He waited a few seconds but Harry made no move to obey. "Give me the prophecy or watch your friends suffer the consequences."

Harry looked around at all of them. Annalisa shook her head when he looked at her and then Harry looked back to Lucius.

"Don't give it to him, Harry!" Neville yelled suddenly but Bellatrix yanked his head back further and hit his throat with her wand to quiet him.

Harry slowly put the orb in Lucius' hand and Lucius held it up to look at it properly. There was a sudden and brief flash of white light and then Annalisa was grinning.

"Dad…" she whispered as Sirius approached Lucius nonchalantly.

"Get away from my godson," he said simply and then punched Lucius square in the face. Lucius tumbled down the rocky ledge of the small mound in front of Annalisa and Alfred. There were more flashes of white light and soon, Annalisa was free. She grabbed her wand and looked around. She saw Harry's Prophecy break just as Malfoy reached for it.

Remus, Moody, Shacklebolt and Tonks were all there. Luna and Ginny were safe with Tonks, hiding behind some rock. Annalisa looked up just in time to see Rodolphus Lestrange send a few curses at Harry and her father. Annalisa whistled at him and he turned to her. Then they were dueling. He was sending her some pretty heavy curses as she ducked and dodged and sent her own spells at him, one catching his shoulder and sending him tumbling. He was up in seconds though and sent the killing curse at her. She narrowly missed it and Sirius struck him with a hex out of rage but then Shacklebolt had taken the duel over and Annalisa was grabbed by Remus.

"Come on," he said but she was pulled away from him when Alfred grabbed her arm and yanked. She grunted when she hit the floor and Alfred and Remus began to duel. Annalisa grabbed her wand again and kicked at Alfred's feet, making him stumble away from Remus. She stood and pointed her wand at her uncle.

"_Stupefy_!" she yelled but he blocked her and then Tonks was pulling her away but Annalisa was able to wriggle free. She looked up and watched her father and Harry duel Rabastan Lestrange and Lucius. Rabastan was disarmed by Harry and Harry then nailed him with a stunning spell. Lucius was disarmed by Sirius and then Sirius used a spell to repel Lucius into a wall. As Sirius was turning back to Harry though, Bellatrix pointed her wand at him.

"_Avada Kedavra_!" she screeched. Annalisa watched in horror as her father barely blocked the spell and stumbled back into the veil. He looked sadly at his children and at Harry as he realized what was happening: the veil wrapped around him and he began to slip away into the arch. Annalisa's eyes widened and she screamed.

"_NO_!" she cried as she began to climb up the mound to get to her father but someone grabbed her ankles and yanked. She turned back, growling. "Get off me!" she snapped and kicked her uncle in the face, shattering his nose beneath her sneaker. She got to her feet and ran to her father, her hands just barely grabbing his fingers as he slipped into the veil. She felt his wedding band slip off of his ring finger and she looked down at it in stunned silence before she screamed and hot tears rolled down her cheeks incessantly. Someone wrapped their arms around her as she tried to get to her father, her hands reaching into the veil but she felt nothing but cool air. She screamed and clawed at the veil, doing no damage.

"No, NO! DADDY! NO!" she cried. She stopped struggling after she realized that she wouldn't be able to get him back and gave into her grief, her head bowed as she sobbed. Her body shook intensely, her tears splashing onto the rock beneath her; the strong arms around her never let her go. She could hear Harry and her brothers screaming for Sirius and she looked up just in time to see Harry run off after Bellatrix. Annalisa fought of Shacklebolt and ran after Harry, just barely getting pass Remus and Tonks. She followed Harry and Bellatrix at a dead run, her tears still pouring.

"I killed Sirius Black!" Bellatrix said in a sing-song voice. "Are you coming to get me, Potter?"

"_Crucio_!" Harry bellowed and Bellatrix fell to the floor with a shriek. She turned onto her back, her arms supporting her torso up. Her lip trembled as she recoiled from Harry. Annalisa stopped about six feet behind Harry.

"You've got to mean it, you stupid boy! You can't just say it and expect it to do the work for you! You have to mean what you say!" Bellatrix snapped, a gleeful smile on her face.

"Harry, don't," Annalisa sobbed. "She's not worth it!" just as the words came out of her mouth, Voldemort appeared out of thin air near Harry. Bellatrix smiled and laughed wickedly.

"Kill her!" Voldemort said and Annalisa moved closer to Harry as he turned to face Voldemort. Annalisa was near Voldemort when she stopped walking, her eyes wide. He had cut her off from her path to Harry but he didn't face her. Harry pointed his wand at Voldemort and was about to say a spell but Voldemort disarmed him easily. "You're so weak, Potter…"

Annalisa stayed where she was, her mind screaming at her to get as far away from Voldemort and close to Harry but her body refused to work. Harry kept his eyes on his opponent. But then, Dumbledore appeared from a chimney and slowly approached Voldemort.

"It was a foolish thing to come here tonight, Thomas," Dumbledore said. "Aurors are on their way now."

"I shall be gone by the time they appear and you…you three will be dead," Voldemort replied arrogantly.

Four things happened all at once: Dumbledore attacked Voldemort, Voldemort attacked Dumbledore, Bellatrix slid into a chimney and disappeared, and Harry was pushed aside by Dumbledore. As Dumbledore's and Voldemort's wands made a connection, Voldemort tried to send blasts at Harry, but instead caused the marble columns to shatter around him.

Annalisa's eyes widened in fear and she bolted for Harry, falling to her knees and sliding to him over the cracking marble floor. She felt her jeans and the skin of her knees tear as she slid into Harry. She covered Harry, knowing that he needed to be protected the most. Marble fell on her back painfully but she didn't stop trying to protect Harry.

Voldemort broke the connection between his and Dumbledore's wands and used magic to breath flames. The fire took the form of a basilisk and Harry got up to go to Dumbledore's side. Annalisa tried to catch him but he just slipped pass her.

"Harry!" she cried before following him. She grabbed his arm and clung to him, watching the battle between the two older wizards in awe and horror. Her mind tried to keep bringing the fact that Sirius was dead back up but she was too terrified for her and Harry's safety to act on her grief. Besides, the woman who had killed him had gotten away. That didn't stop the rage and sorrow from filling her as she hung onto Harry, desperately trying to hold him back.

Somehow, Dumbledore trapped Voldemort in a ball formed by water from the fountain. The water ball crashed to the floor seconds later when Dumbledore used a spell to make the sculptures in the fountain come alive to protect Harry and Annalisa. Voldemort used a spell that sent black jets out at Dumbledore, who blocked them easily. But suddenly, Voldemort sent a ball of energy exploding through the huge room, knocking down Dumbledore in the process. The centaur, wizard, witch, house elf, and goblin that were protecting Harry and Annalisa exploded and knocked the two down from the force of it. The glass from all of the windows above them shattered and fell but Voldemort used the broken glass as an offensive move. The little dagger-like shards came zooming towards them but Dumbledore blocked them just in time.

The shards transformed into sand and pelted Dumbledore, Harry, and Annalisa, who all closed their eyes and shut their mouths tightly and turned away from it. When they stood up after the sand was all on the floor, Voldemort didn't look too pleased. With a funnel of sand, he vanished; the sand returned to the floor slowly, undisturbed. But for some reason Annalisa understood that he wasn't gone. The sand moved across the floor as a breeze blew in the building.

"He's in the sand…" she whispered and then turned to Harry to get him away from the sand beneath their feet but it was too late. His body seized up and he fell to his hands and knees. "Harry!" she cried and kneeled down next to him with Dumbledore.

"You've lost, old man," Voldemort spoke through Harry as the boy looked at Dumbledore. Annalisa saw that Harry's green eyes were now a milky blue color. Then Harry grunted loudly in pain and writhed in agony on the floor.

"Harry," Annalisa whispered as she cried, a shaky hand covering her trembling mouth as she watched on in terror. She just watched her father die and now she was watching her friend suffer. She couldn't lose him too, not now.

"Harry," Dumbledore said quietly when Harry's eyes returned to normal for a brief second. "It's not how the two of you are alike, Harry; it is how different you both are from one another."

Harry struggled against Voldemort, his eyes changing from pale blue to green again and again. Annalisa sobbed as she moved to Harry's back and stroked his head, pulling him against her so his head was resting against her thighs as she sat on her feet.

"Harry, please…don't give in…" she whispered. She hated seeing him in pain and hated the feeling of not being able to do anything about it. "Harry…please…" she begged and rested her forehead against his shoulder as he rested on his side; his eyes were looking at Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Neville, Conri, Rupert, and Luna as they came into the room. They were battered and dirty but their eyes were all on him, silently begging him to fight. "Think of all the good times we've had. Think about your friends and family, Harry," Annalisa whispered, still sobbing.

"You're the weak one…" Harry said after a few moments of struggle. He panted from his excursions. Annalisa looked at him hopefully. "Because you'll never know what love and friendship is. _I_ pity _you_," he finished, speaking to Voldemort.

Suddenly, Harry flipped onto his back and something pulled out of him from his chest. Annalisa looked around; they were surrounded by sand in the air and when she looked out at the others, it was as if they were suspended in time, unable to see what was going on. And then…Voldemort stood above them, looking down on Harry, who looked back up at him stubbornly.

"You're a foolish boy, Harry Potter. You will lose everything you hold dear," Voldemort told him but Annalisa clenched her jaw and stood up, placing herself between Harry and Voldemort.

"Not as long as he has me by his side," she ground out and Voldemort looked at her in very slight surprise. Then his eyes were on something else but Annalisa didn't stop watching him. He was gone within seconds, the sand around them flying upwards. Annalisa's wavy hair flew up and then settled down against her back. She turned to see Fudge, Percy, and many Aurors arriving. Fudge looked dumbstruck.

"He's back…" was all he said.

"No shit, Sherlock," Aurora said bitterly as she walked forward. She had been overcome by her worry and decided to show up, hoping that she got there in time to help. But she hadn't. She hurried to Annalisa and the two embraced. "Annalisa…my god…" she looked her daughter up and down, taking in all the cuts and bruises. Annalisa just clung to her, sobbing. "Annalisa, what's wrong?" then she felt a warm ring of metal being pressed into her palm. Aurora looked down at the object in her hand: Sirius' wedding band. "No…" was all she could say as she clung to her daughter. Conri and Rupert went to them and they hugged them both. After her children went to be with their friends, Aurora bent down to check on Harry but Dumbledore told her to go. She was numb. She was hoping that this wasn't what she thought it was...she hoped that Sirius hadn't broken his promise to her.

Aurora felt as if time stood still as she walked a painful walk, her sneaker clad feet not making a sound against the marble floors. She followed a hallway, about five Aurors following her, that took them to a room that had about eight Death Eaters in it with Remus, Moody, Tonks, and Shacklebolt keeping their wands on them. Remus saw Aurora and he glanced over at the veil. Aurora looked up at it and slowly walked to it, collapsing to her knees in front of it. Her hand was wrapped tightly around his wedding ring and she pressed it to her heart as she sobbed.

"You promised me…" she whispered to the veil. "You said you'd come back to me…You promised…" She bowed her head, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed quietly. His words echoed in her head and she felt her heart shattering in her chest. "What am I going to do without you again? I can't ever get you back from this…"

After a few moments, she composed herself and slowly stood. She turned; her eyes were red and puffy, her nose and cheeks pink and wet. She walked slowly over to the Death Eaters, her eyes on Alfred. She jumped down from the rock and pulled her wand out and shoved it painfully into his neck. No one made a move to stop her.

"Give me one good reason not to blow your head off right now," she demanded and he just glared at her.

"It wasn't me who killed him, Aurora," he told her and her eyes narrowed.

"Then it was Bellatrix," she said and lowered her wand. She turned away from him and then whirled around, swinging a fist at his face, catching him on his already broken nose. "That's for going after my kids, you asshole," she snarled as she watched him crumple to the floor, clutching at his face in agony as more blood spouted from his nose. She turned on her heel and left the room, barely feeling Remus' hand grasping her arm. She continued to walk on though, not wanting to be with anyone but herself at the moment. She needed time to grieve and she'd be damned to let anyone see her cry.

* * *

........Don't be mad. Please. I always intended to stay canon with this and I'm sorry if anyone is angry with me. Trust me, I love Sirius just as much as anyone else so reading about his death made me cry and writing about his death made me cry. But in order for the characters of the series to grow and become who they are, they need something like this to happen. Death really changes people and I hope you see that it changes Annalisa and Aurora a lot in the future. I hope I don't lose any readers because of this. Anyway...

Thanks to wickedwench1 and kat183 for the reviews. Please review more, readers. I love reviews. Especially if you write more than "it was good" or "can't wait for more! Update soon!". Those are nice too but not as nice as the ones that go into detail about what you liked about the chapter. So please review! -Siriusgrl88

P.S. For any of you who reviewed or did alerts for my other stories, thanks!

P.P.S. Part Three isn't quite over yet. I have a few more chapters left for this part before I start Part Four.


	17. Aftermath

Ok, here goes. Disclaimer: Annalisa Dairine Black, Aurora Clementine Badeau, Conri Carmine Black, Rupert Severus Badeau (Lupin-Snape), Aberto Adriano Badeau, Alicia Doireann Badeau (nee Riddle), Timothy Durante Badeau, Alfred Cillain Badeau, Holly Caoimhe Badeau, Nicola Sorcha Badeau, Italia Isla Badeau, Thekla Sophia Badeau (nee Metaxas), Maximus Eligio Badeau, Alexander Fidel Badeau, Massimo Cillian Badeau, Dolores Maria Badeau (nee DaSilva), anyone else mentioned in my fanfics that aren't in Jo's books are (C) me :)

Pippa Nicole Lupin-LaVigne (C) Ashley :)

Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Fred and George Weasley, and anyone else whom you recognize from the books are (C) Jo Rowling. I'm sorry that it's so short but she has a lot of characters and so do I so if I listed them all, it would take up about half a page.

Enjoy and review!

* * *

Annalisa lay on her back on her bed at Hogwarts, staring impassively at the scarlet canopy above her.

"Annalisa?" Hermione called tentatively from the door. Annalisa didn't answer. "Are you coming down to eat?" Still, Annalisa didn't answer. "Alright then; just thought I'd ask," Hermione said sadly before she left the room.

Hermione and the others were all packed to leave the next day and Annalisa almost felt relieved. She wanted to be alone, to close in on herself and never move again. A tear slipped out of her eye and she wiped it away and looked at her moist hand.

'What horrible things, tears are…the feelings that come with them are terrible…' she thought as she sat up and looked around the room. She stood on shaky legs and walked out of the room and down the stairs to the common room before walking up the boys' stairs. She knocked on the fifth year boys dormitories and waited, hoping that Harry was still there.

"Come in," Harry said and Annalisa opened the door. She peered in and they locked eyes. They didn't smile at one another as she went in and sat on Ron's bed, watching Harry finish his packing. After minutes of silence, Annalisa began to cry again, bowing her head as her shoulders trembled.

"What am I going to do, Harry? I want him back…" she sobbed and covered her face with her hands. Harry sat down next to her and just wrapped an arm around her shoulders, unable to say anything as he cried with her.

* * *

A few hours later, while Annalisa stayed up in her room and her brothers comforted each other out in the courtyard, Harry went down to talk with Aurora. Something had been bothering him since his incident with Snape barely a couple of weeks ago. He walked stiffly to her classroom and found her trying to keep herself busy by cleaning and reading.

"Aurora?" he asked softly and even above all the noises that filled the room, Aurora looked up at him. He could tell that she had been crying quite a bit because her eyes were pink and the soft skin around them was puffy and soft. Her blue, blue eyes were watery as well and the tip of her nose was a soft pink color but the rest of her face was pale. Harry noticed a ring that hung on a silver chain around her neck and a pain of realization hit him; it was Sirius' wedding ring.

"Yes, Harry?" she replied as she placed the papers she had been reading down on her desk in front of her as she sat there, tense and vulnerable.

"Can I ask you some things? About my mum and dad?"

"Of course; sit down," she tried to dismiss the surprise in her voice as she spoke.

Harry sat at a desk in front of hers and stared at his hands for a while before he spoke. She was patient with him and just waited for him to speak.

"I…what were they really like?"

"What do you mean?"

"Were they good people? Were they kind and honest with everyone? Were they really what everyone says they were?"

"They were very good people, Harry. I'm afraid in death, people tend to become more good or more terrible than they were in life. At least to those who were left behind."

Harry looked up at her, a bit confused.

"What I mean is, those of us who are left to live out the rest of our lives tend to idolize or dehumanize those who have passed on, depending on the deceased person's character in life...It's safe to say that when Dumbledore dies, people will idolize him and see him as some sort of saint of our time and yet you and I both know that he is as flawed as anyone else. Harry, would you like me to describe to you what your parents were like? Even their faults?"

Harry nodded slowly and she frowned in thought as she recalled all of her memories of her late friends.

"Lily was opinionated, stubborn, bossy, too smart for her own good at times, too trusting…she had a temper and she was cruel when she wanted to be. It wasn't often mind you, but if someone got on her bad side she knew exactly what to say to hurt them. She was illogical at times and more emotional. But she was loyal, caring, loving, honest, helpful, intelligent, clever…overall, the best person I knew."

Harry seemed to accept this, even if he didn't like some of the things he heard.

"James was brash, irrational, manipulative, tricky, sneaky, impatient, cunning, a bully…and he was honest and loyal and kind and clever. You're a lot like him. Well, you're a lot like the both of them, really…Harry, you have nothing to worry about. They were good, decent, normal people. And they loved you. Deeply."

"That's not what's really bothering me…" he murmured quietly and Aurora barely heard him.

"Then what is really bothering you?" she asked as she watched him, concerned by his mood.

"Did they love each other?"

"Whatever would make you think they didn't?"

"I saw a memory…it was…someone else's and they were being bullied by my dad."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Aurora knew whose memory it was. She sighed heavily and looked at the window.

"Severus was one of many that your father bullied while we were students here. I won't say your father was the best guy at this school when we were teenagers. Like I said, he was a bully and irrational and brash. But he matured before our last year as students and he and your mum began to date. They did love each other, Harry, very much. Lily would never have stayed with James if she didn't love him."

Harry nodded slowly as he absorbed her words.

"I hope I assuaged your doubt, Harry."

He looked up at her and nodded, a very small, relieved smile barely curved his lips as he stared back at her. "Yeah, for the most part. I just wish I could have really gotten to know them though."

"Just look inside yourself, Harry. They're in you."

He nodded again and then stood. "Well, I should get going…"

"Alright…Write to us over the summer, will you?"

"Yeah…of course," he replied and then turned and left the classroom.

Aurora sat back in her chair, tears yet again stinging her eyes. She stubbornly forced them not to fall and she shook back her long, straight hair. "I hope I did you two justice," she whispered as if speaking to James and Lily in person.

* * *

Annalisa, Conri, and Rupert escorted their friends to the train as usual the day that they were due to go back home.

"I have been thinking about something that Dumbledore told me once…" Harry said to them all as they approached the train.

"And what is that?" Hermione asked.

"That even though we have a war ahead of us, we've all got one thing that Voldemort doesn't have: something worth fighting for," Harry answered and they all smiled. They had their stuff boarded on the train before they said good-bye to Rupert, Conri, and Annalisa. Annalisa hugged Hermione, Ginny, and Luna.

"Will you write us, Annie? Keep us informed on what's happening here?" Hermione asked.

Annalisa gave her a small nod. "Of course I will. Will you three write me? I think reading letters will help me through this..."

"Have we ever not written you over the summer?" Ginny asked with a sarcastic gleam in her eyes. Annalisa smiled slightly and hugged the three girls again.

Then Annalisa hugged Ron and handed him a note to give to George. Annalisa turned to Harry as Conri and Rupert said good-bye to Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, and Luna.

"I'll see you in a few months, then, Harry," she said and he hugged her. "We're family," she whispered to him and he nodded as he pulled away. Ginny, Harry, Neville, and Luna boarded the train after Ron and Hermione. They all hung out of the windows, waving and saying good-bye to Annalisa, Conri, and Rupert. Many of the D.A. members also hung out of the windows, waving and giving condolences.

The three Black children waved and followed the train until the loading dock stopped. They watched the train leave until it was completely out of sight. Then they turned to one another and solemnly began their trek back to the school. As Conri and Rupert walked on ahead, Annalisa took in her scenery as she went.

It was a beautiful, warm sunny day in late June. The sun beat down on them but a cool breeze blew to take the sting away. Annalisa's hair tickled her face and she reached up to tuck some hair behind her ears. She swore she could hear Sirius' voice speaking to her through the breeze, calling her by her nickname softly. She looked around a bit hopefully, tears in her eyes again. She knew it couldn't be him…there was no coming back from death, not even in the magical community, but her heart ached with hope and yearning. Conri and Rupert kept walking on ahead as she stopped and looked around. That's when she saw Firenze, the centaur who had taken over the Divination classes when Trelawney had been sacked.

"Hello, Annalisa," he said as he approached her, his hooves making the ground gently vibrate beneath her feet.

"Hello, Professor," she said respectfully, looking up at him.

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for your loss…"

"Thanks…I guess," she said, looking away as tears rapidly filled her eyes. The wound was still so fresh.

"Walk with me," he said as he began to go in the direction of the Black Lake. She followed silently, listening to his hooves gently thud against the grass. Some small birds flew over head, chirping merrily. Annalisa watched them and suddenly she had a strong urge to kill one of them to let the other suffer. She caught herself and blanched, appalled with herself. "When we lose those we care most about, it often feels as if our whole world has collapsed around us. We want others to suffer the way we are, we want to just lie down and never get back up…it's definitely a difficult time," Firenze spoke as if he had read her thoughts.

Annalisa remained silent as he lay down next to the embankment of the lake. Annalisa went to the water's edge and easily removed her sandals before she stepped into the cool lake water. He watched her intently as she crouched down in the water, searching for smooth, flat rocks.

"But we must remember that the ones we lose want us to keep going on…They want us to better ourselves and live happy lives."

"I can't live a happy life now…When I got my father back, I pictured my wedding, the birth of my future children…and he was there. He was always there…but now he won't be and I don't want that life if it means he won't be able to see what's going on firsthand," she told Firenze as she threw a flat rock across the surface of the lake. She struggled to talk, her throat threatening to close on her if she did. The giant squid caught the rock and threw it back at her. She caught it with ease and tossed it back across the surface. The squid caught it again and threw it back to her.

"But he wouldn't want you, your brothers, and your mother to suffer like that."

Annalisa didn't respond, knowing that he was right. She continued to play toss with the squid as she listened to her surroundings and to her professor.

"We centaurs have a belief that when a loved one passes on, regardless of how and why, they remain with those they cared most about. The deceased's soul watches over those they love, guiding them through life…"

"You think my dad's watching over me? Like a Guardian Angel?"

"Yes. I believe he is watching over you and your brothers and mother…He loved you all dearly, I suspect."

"He did really love Mum…" she said as she tossed the rock back at the squid. She turned back to Firenze and walked back to him, her sandals in hand. "He couldn't take his eyes off of her," she said as she sat down, wrapping her arms around her bare, bent legs. "And she really loved him too…She told me once that she won't love anyone the way she loves Dad. The look on her face when…" Annalisa bit her lower lip, fighting her tears. "…when I gave her his wedding ring…she looked so devastated and when she came back from that room that he died in…I've never seen her like that before," her voice was choked as she spoke, watching the squid flail its long arms around above the water's surface. "You could actually see her heart breaking."

"The greatest pain," Firenze said, "is that of losing a soul mate or a child."

Annalisa nodded and looked down at her dirty feet. "I keep wanting him to come back…just sauntering in through the front doors of the school, a grin on his face…To tell us it was all some horrible joke he had pulled. But I know that he won't ever come back. I just wish I could say good-bye to him properly."

"He's always with you. He always will be because he loves you and your brothers and mother…and Harry Potter, of course. We never truly leave those we love."

Annalisa laughed slightly, wiping her tears off of her cheeks. "Dad said something like that once… 'The ones we love never truly leave us; we can always find them in our hearts.'"

"Your father was a wise man then."

"Yeah…yeah, he was. He was really funny too and loving. He was so proud of all of us…I wish I could have told him that I was proud of him, proud to be his daughter."

"You'll get your chance someday…You can always talk to him when you're alone," Firenze said as he looked towards the Forbidden Forest. Annalisa followed his line of sight and saw some other centaurs at the forests' edge. They didn't look so happy with him but they didn't seem to want to attack him either.

"You've lost a lot this year too," Annalisa said.

"Yes, but that was partly my decision."

"Maybe, by the end of all this, you'll be welcomed back and they'll realize that humans aren't so bad," Annalisa said hopefully but Firenze shook his head, frowning.

"It's unlikely."

"Why?"

"Centaurs have a strict code of ethics and one of the top laws is that you never leave your herd unless you're married off into another one; but most of the marriages just make larger herds, joining two or more together permanently. I left my herd willingly to help humans. I made a huge insult to them by doing so."

"Oh…but there still might be a chance. Dumbledore is really good with words and he's so kind to everyone."

"I'm afraid that not even Dumbledore can convince them that what I did was a good thing."

"That's not very fair, if you ask me," Annalisa grumbled and Firenze chuckled.

"Many of the centaur laws seem unfair to humans. But they're fair to us."

"So you'll be staying here next year then?"

"Yes, Professor Trelawney and I will both be teaching Divination."

"Oh, I bet she loves that idea," Annalisa said with a slight smile.

"She didn't seem so pleased when Dumbledore mentioned it to her. But there's nowhere else I can go now."

"Do you miss any of them?"

"Yes."

"Did you have a…um…mate? Or wife?"

"No, many of the women are already taken and those who aren't either don't get along with me or just see me as a friend."

"There had to be one…" Annalisa tried to pry.

"You humans are a very inquisitive race."

"Yes, we are. Especially me. My mother was quite nosey when she was my age and Dad said that I got that from her."

Firenze chuckled. "There is one mare in the herd that I'm in love with but I don't think she returns my feelings."

"Have you told her your feelings?"

"Stallions do not just approach a mare and tell her that he likes her. There's a very complicated and drawn out courtship that they have to go through together before the mare's father can consent and if he ends up saying no, the mare and stallion are to stop seeing each other. Often the stallion leaves the herd to find another mate."

"Wow…how…interesting," Annalisa said. "Why didn't you ever court her?"

"She never let anyone before."

"She might have let you."

"It is too late now."

"Fine…" She didn't sound convinced.

"How is your mother?"

"She's been zombie-like lately. She hasn't shown any emotion since the day he died, except for when Fudge showed up a few days ago to apologize. I know she's trying to keep everything together so everyone else can lean on her for support but I don't think that's very fair to herself. I know my aunts and grandmother are coming soon to see us. Grandmum will most likely talk some sense into her but we'll see."

"What about your brothers?"

"They both took it pretty hard. Conri doesn't say much and Rupert goes off into his trances a lot more."

"And you?"

"I'm …taking it a day at a time, I guess…We just got him back from Azkaban only to lose him to that veiled archway in the Ministry. I wish I had more time with him...Fudge gave Mum a plaque for Dad. It's an _Order of Merlin, Second Class._ She ended up screaming at him, telling him off for the things he said in the media about all of us and the fact that Dad was never giving a trial. She was livid."

"She had a right to be."

"Yeah…sometimes, if I close my eyes and zone everything out, I can remember back to when I was just a baby. I can hear his voice as he talks to me…" they remained silent for a few moments; the birds chirping, the water lapping at the shore, and the gentle breeze blowing were the only sounds surrounding them

"A dark time is approaching," Firenze said as he looked up at the sky. Annalisa looked up as well. Dark clouds were rolling in but she knew that he wasn't speaking of the weather. "I'm afraid that you and your friends have a terrible war to fight…"

Annalisa looked at Firenze, frowning worriedly. She looked back out at the forest but the other centaurs had left. Firenze stood up and Annalisa followed him back to the castle. She knew that when Harry had to go on his journey to defeat Voldemort that she had to take precautions. Annalisa hurried back to her room in Gryffindor Tower. She dropped her sandals down on the floor before padding over to her bed. She brushed the sand and dirt off of her feet before lying out on her bed, her back propped up against the headboard. She pulled her third diary out of her bedside table and then grabbed the Fwooper quill that her brother's had gotten her for Christmas during her third year. She hadn't written in this diary since two days before her father died.

She took a deep breath, dipped her quill in her ink jar, and then began to write.

_Dear Diary,_

_I know I haven't written in this for about a month now but there's good reason for it…My father is dead. He was killed by his estranged, demented cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange. Writing it seems to make his death more real. I love him so much…I don't think he knew. I wish I could have told him how proud I was to be his daughter and how much I love him. I didn't get to give him a proper good-bye…but when is a good time for a proper good-bye? Saying good-bye is, in a way, quitting. He wouldn't want me to quit on anything._

_Mum has taken his death pretty hard. She cried for the first day but now she's almost like a zombie. She doesn't show any emotion anymore and it disturbs me. I know she's grieving in her own way but Conri, Rupert, and I need to see her cry more. When people show no emotion, I think of Voldemort. He's completely void of all emotion except for greed, anger, and pride. I hate him and I hate Bellatrix Lestrange._

_Everyone says that there's a war beginning now that the Ministry knows that Voldemort is back. Stupid Fudge…he's a massive idiot. That's alright though…he's resigned. But as for this war…I will remain with Harry no matter what. When he goes on this journey, this mission, to destroy Voldemort, I'll be right by his side. I know Hermione and Ron feel the same way and so do all of our other friends and my brothers._

_I vow to avenge my father by killing Bellatrix Lestrange. So help me God, I'll make sure I'm the one who kills Bellatrix for what she has done.  
__  
Always,  
Annalisa

* * *

_

Well, there you go. Another chapter. Thanks to kat183 and wickedwench1 for the reviews.

wicked: I'm glad you liked Alfred's description. I really try to describe the characters as best I can, especially my own.

kat183: I'm sorry for upsetting you, but as I said before: I always planned to stick with canon for this set of fanfics. But I am sorry that you weren't happy with it.

Is there any possible way I can get more than 2 reviews a chapter? How about I do _NOT_ post another chapter until I get **at least** 4 reviews? I'm not a "review whore", I just like getting feedback so I can make the next chapters even better. Constructive criticism is what I'm looking for or at least something like Wicked's comment about how she liked how I described Alfred. Don't be one of those people who says to themself "oh someone else will review it and she'll get those 4 reviews from other people so I don't need to review" because I can guarantee that everyone else (except kat and wicked) will be thinking the same thing. _**So please review**_. -Siriusgrl88


	18. Surprise Visit

I've given up. Tomorrow I will post a new chapter, and I will continue to update it daily now because obviously I really don't have that many faithful readers. So I will update daily through the rest of this part, the next part, and the last part. But when it comes to my actual sequel to all of these parts, I won't update daily. It'll maybe be weekly. I don't know how quickly I'll have the fourth part (book/movie six) posted because I really want to wait till the movie comes out to see how good it is. I added a chapter that's not in the book but from the movie instead; problem is, it's not accurate because, obviously, I haven't seen the movie yet. So that's it pretty much.

Thanks to kat183, wickedwench1, and avalon64 for the wonderful reviews =) !

kat183: No, she's not going to fall in love with Firenze ^_^ Firenze will have a little love story of his own on the side in the last part and then the sequel after that. I won't go into a lot of detail though.

wickedwench1: I'm glad you liked that little bit with Aurora and Harry. It was a last minute addition.

avalon64: Welcome to the story! I hope you like this new chapter.

To all viewers: _**Please review**_!

P.S. This is how I'm going to do the reviews and notices from now on.

* * *

Ok, here goes. Disclaimer: Annalisa Dairine Black, Aurora Clementine Badeau, Conri Carmine Black, Rupert Severus Badeau (Lupin-Snape), Aberto Adriano Badeau, Alicia Doireann Badeau (nee Riddle), Timothy Durante Badeau, Alfred Cillain Badeau, Holly Caoimhe Badeau, Nicola Sorcha Badeau, Italia Isla Badeau, Thekla Sophia Badeau (nee Metaxas), Maximus Eligio Badeau, Alexander Fidel Badeau, Massimo Cillian Badeau, Dolores Maria Badeau (nee DaSilva), anyone else mentioned in my fanfics that aren't in Jo's books are (C) me :)

Pippa Nicole Lupin-LaVigne (C) Ashley :)

Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ronald We asley, Ginny Weasley, Fred and George Weasley, and anyone else whom you recognize from the books are (C) Jo Rowling. I'm sorry that it's so short but she has a lot of characters and so do I so if I listed them all, it would take up about half a page.

Enjoy and review!

* * *

About a week later, Annalisa was lying out by the lake shore in her bathing suit while her brothers swam about the lake with some merboys around their age. She lay on her back in her two piece red swimsuit, sunglasses covering her eyes that were closed anyways as she took a slight nap. She had one leg propped up, the other stretched out, her arms lying at her sides. They had had a brief thunder and lightning storm for about two days and the two days after that it was just cloudy and windy. Finally the sun had peeked out from the clouds and warmed the earth again. This day was a clear and warm one and Annalisa took full advantage.

She was slowly getting over her father's death and so were her brothers. They tried to keep themselves as busy as they could, like their mother, so they didn't dwell on their grief. Currently, Aurora was in the castle, cleaning her room, office, and classroom with Alicia, Holly, Nicola, and Italia. Holly and Nicola had left their children with their husbands. They would only be at the school for another two weeks. Annalisa noticed a shadow move above her through her eye lids and she felt the burn of the sun cease on her right arm and shoulder. She opened her eyes and looked up at a tall, red-headed boy with freckles covering his bare arms and face. He wore a loose fitting brown tank and earthy green shorts that cut off just below his knees. His feet were bare except for the brown sandals. He was sitting nonchalantly next to her on the grass, looking out at her brothers, his eyes squinted.

"George!" she squealed and sat up, lunging for him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his neck, cheek, nose, and lips excitedly. He chuckled and hugged her, his hands gentle on her bare skin. "What are you doing here?" she asked as she pulled back, removing her sunglasses from her face.

"I came to see you. Ron gave me the letter you wrote me and he told me everything that happened at the Ministry…I couldn't stay at the house and just wait for you to heal. I had to be here for you," he said seriously and they rested their foreheads together, closing their eyes.

"Thank you," she whispered, her hands resting on the nape of his neck.

"You're welcome, love," he whispered back and she kissed him lovingly. He returned the favor and deepened the kiss.

"Oi! George! Come swimming with us!" Conri and Rupert called out to him and George and Annalisa looked out at her brothers. "You too Annie!"

George looked at her.

"You go ahead…I'm not in the mood for swimming," she told him with a smile but George's eyes twinkled with mischief and he grinned wickedly. Her brow furrowed and then she was crawling backwards, away from him. "Don't you daaaaarrrreeeee! George Weasley, put me down!" she shrieked as George chuckled, putting her over his shoulder and carrying her to the water's edge, his hands on the back of her thighs to keep her steadied.

"I'll put you down in a second, I promise," George answered in amusement.

"Not in the waaAAAAA!" she screamed when he tossed her into a deep part of the lake. She came back to the surface, sputtering and spitting out water as she wiped it out of her face. "George Weasley!"

"CANNON BALL!" George yelled as he ran and made a long leap, curling his legs up to himself and wrapping his arms around his legs to keep them there. He landed near her, a wave of water hitting her. She sputtered again and she splashed water in his face when he came back up, smiling.

"You jerk!" she yelled, trying hard to fight her laughter and smile. George just grinned.

"You liked it," he laughed and Annalisa huffed, swimming away from him, deeper into the water. Conri and Rupert were laughing at her before they ducked down under the water to play with the merboys again. George swam after Annalisa and she shrieked as she tried to out swim him but to no avail. His long limbs gave him an advantage and he grabbed her wrist, turning her around to face him. They were both laughing and grinning. Their laughter slowly died down and she kissed him, her legs still kicking to keep her afloat. He grinned against her mouth and kissed her back, his arms wrapping around her waist. She wrapped her arms around his neck as the kiss deepened.

"I'm getting tired," she whispered when they pulled away from one another to breath. He nodded and they swam back to the shore. She climbed up the slight incline of the shore and she grabbed the very large beach towel, wrapping it around the both of them. She leaned against him, resting her head on his chest, her ear over his heart; she closed her eyes and just listened to his heart beat rapidly in his chest.

"I can't stay but a week. Is that alright?" he asked a few minutes later when they were walking up to the castle, her brothers wrestling behind them.

"That's fine," she said, smiling up at him, squeezing his hand gently. "I'm just happy that you're here."

* * *

Annalisa spent the whole week with George, wandering around the grounds of the school and Hogsmeade, enjoying their time together before he went back to Fred and their 'shop' in Diagon Alley. He told her all of their ambitions and she couldn't help but smile. He and his twin had so many ideas and plans. She cherished the time she was getting with him because she wasn't leaving her mother for the rest of the summer. She refused to leave Aurora, even if it meant that she wouldn't see her friends till September. They would understand.

"People are really enjoying our work! It's been moving quickly and soon we'll have enough money to buy expand," he said excitedly as he stopped in the school's garden and Annalisa smiled a bit sadly as she sat down on a bench; he joined her. It seemed as if they were growing apart; she was still in school while he was out in the real world, making a killing at what he and his twin had thought up. She felt as if there were light-years between them now; he seemed so much more mature and grown-up. She felt like she was still a kid. He went on about what new things that he and Fred were working on and all she could do is smile slightly and nod. After a while, he caught on and frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she answered quickly, shaking her head and plastering a grin on her face.

"Don't lie to me, Annalisa," he said, looking peeved. She sighed and looked down at her folded hands in her lap.

"It's not important."

"Yes it is. Something is bothering you…Is it about your dad?"

"No."

"Then what is it?"

"Nothing."

"Stop doing that! Tell me what's bothering you, damn it."

Annalisa looked at him in slight surprise. He only cussed when he was really getting angry. "It's just…oh just forget it, George. It really isn't important…I'll get over it," she said as she looked away again. 'Just like you'll get over me,' she thought sadly but she forced happiness into her face and eyes. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." 'No.'

"Alright…"

* * *

"Promise me you'll keep in touch," Annalisa whispered in George's ear as they hugged before he left. They were standing in Hogsmeade. He had already said good-bye to her family and the other teachers.

"I promise," he whispered back and they kissed softly before he pulled away and backed away from her, their hands still touching before he was too far away for their fingertips to touch anymore. They smiled at one another before he whirled around in his spot, disappearing. Annalisa sighed heavily and slipped her CD player out of her shirt pocket. She put her headphones in her ears and turned back towards the school, turning her CD player on. A soft melody met her ears and she closed her eyes as she walked a path that she knew by heart now.

As the song ended, she opened her eyes and stopped and looked up at the school. She shielded her eyes with her hand. 'Such an ancient building,' she thought as she scrutinized it, taking in the old stone and cracks. Suddenly, she felt a soft, furry body rubbing against her bare ankles. She looked down and smiled. "Cleo!" she picked the mewing cat up and cuddled her. Cleo rubbed her head under Annalisa's chin and licked at Annalisa's neck affectionately. "What would I do without you, Cleo?"

Cleo meowed loudly and just settled in her owner's arms. Annalisa walked up the steps to the castle and walked over the threshold of the large, opened doors. Sadly, she remembered something her father had said to her, Harry, and Conri as he had looked out at the school from the Whomping Willow after they had learned the truth.

'"_Beautiful, isn't it? I'll always remember the first day I walked through those doors. It'll be very nice to walk through them again…as a free man_,"' his voice echoed in her mind and she looked back over her shoulder, picturing her father walking in behind her, grinning and holding his arms out to her. But with a simple blink of her eyes, he was gone. She sniffled and Cleo licked at an escaped tear on her cheek. Annalisa wiped the other tear away and sighed heavily. "I'm sorry, Daddy…I'm sorry that you were never really free," she whispered before she turned her back to the doors and hurried up the staircase.


	19. AN and PREVIEW

Slight Hiatus

The only reason why is because I want this part to be relevant with the movie so I'm going to wait till July to post Part Four. I'm sorry if this angers any of you but it's my decision. I've been overwhelmed with school and work this semester so I need to leave this story alone until I get out of this semester. Once school is out, I'll finish Part Four and then start posting it up in July and then start Part Five (book/movie seven; soooo excited!!). I hope you can wait that long. I am truly sorry for making you all wait for so long. But, as the old adage goes, "absence makes the heart grow fonder". So please, no hating and I hope you enjoyed the last chapter. I will leave you a small preview of a chapter from Part Four. Will that suffice for now? I hope so.

Thanks kat183 for the review. I'm sorry I made you cry again. Annalisa will continue to struggle with her father's death throughout Part Four and part of Part Five. Aurora will as well.

And thanks in advance to anyone else who decides to leave a review for the last chapter of Part Three.

-Siriusgrl88

* * *

PREVIEW

"Get the little bastards off of me!" Ron bellowed. Hermione just gave him one last furious glare and then yanked open the door. She went through it and slammed it behind her but not before Harry and Annalisa heard a sob. The birds vanished into thin air and Ron brushed blood and feathers off of him as he glared angrily at the door. Annalisa slid off of the desk and walked to the door, intent on going after Hermione. Before she left, she looked back at Ron, who was glaring at her. "What? You going to sic a bunch of locusts on me?!"

"No, but maybe the next time you piss me off, I will. Or I'll just give the idea to Hermione. You're such a bloody idiot, Ron," she retorted and then stormed out of the room. She hurried down the hall way and finally caught up with Hermione. She linked arms with the girl. Hermione rested her head on Annalisa's shoulder and cried as they walked to a different abandoned classroom.

"I can't b-believe him!" Hermione sobbed as she sat on another desk. Annalisa just remained quiet. She'd just let Hermione talk, or rather sob, and let everything out. It's what she had always done for Hermione when there was a problem with Ron. The boy had no idea how many times he had made Hermione cry. "Can't he ever b-be nice? Can't he ever b-be happy for me? He's so s-selfish and rude!"

Annalisa just nodded, watching her friend. She stood in front of Hermione, her stance nonchalant but earnest. The next few weeks, maybe even months, were going to be very difficult. Annalisa absentmindedly listened to Hermione as she sobbed, giving the occasional nod and 'yeah, I agree'. Annalisa was thinking about George and her father and how she missed them both in such different ways. She knew she'd see George again eventually, at least she felt like she would. But the terrible ache that she had in her heart caused by the deep longing to see her father again was completely different and ever-lasting; Sirius was gone for good and she wouldn't see him again until she died.

Her father's death slowly developed into her own. Would it be soon or would she be an old grey lady when she took her final nap? Would she be killed by Voldemort or one of his goons? Or would she develop some terrible disease and die a long, painful death? Or would she go in her sleep; peaceful and at ease? How would her friends and family go? Annalisa snapped out of it and silently admonished herself for being so selfish. She refocused on Hermione.

Hermione and Annalisa hung around the classroom until Harry came to tell them that the celebration was over. The three left together and then separated when they got to the common room. Ron and Lavender had finally gone to bed. Harry went up to his dormitories as Annalisa and Hermione went to theirs.

The two girls changed and Hermione made it to bed first. Annalisa sat at her vanity and brushed out her long, still tangled hair; the wind had certainly done a number on it. As she brushed it leisurely, her eyes fell on a picture of her and Sirius; it was taken on the Christmas before his death. They were both smiling from ear-to-ear. They're eyes twinkled lovingly as she had her arms wrapped around his waist and her cheek rested against his chest. His arms hung loosely around her shoulders and his chin rested on top of her head. A picture she would cherish always.

Their eyes were the same exact shade and shape, her hair was a bit longer than his but just as wavy and black, her skin was paler than his and she had her mother's smile. Tears stung her eyes and she angrily pushed the frame down so that the back was facing the ceiling. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and suddenly wanted her hair gone and she wanted her eyes a different color. They were a constant reminder of the fact that his blood ran through her veins, that she was part of his legacy.

She grabbed a pair of scissors from the vanity drawer and she grabbed a thick lock of her hair. She held it out a little from her face and she opened the scissors, letting the blades caress her hair threateningly. With a steady breath, a determined look, and with her jaw set stubbornly, Annalisa closed the scissor's blades and snipped off a chunk of her hair. It drifted to the floor and a sense of release filled her. She vigorously cut the rest of her hair; the back gave her some trouble but she managed to finish.

Her once mid-back length hair had lost about seven inches; the back was much shorter than the front. The front cut down sharply just pass her jaw. Her bangs remained, heavy and thick on her forehead. She would have to ask her mother to fix her eyes tomorrow. She waved her wand at the fallen wisps of hair that lay scattered around the chair of the vanity and the useless hair vanished, leaving no trace of what had occurred. She slipped the scissors and brush into the vanity drawer and then crawled into her bed, closing the four-poster curtains after her.


End file.
